When You Hear the Knell of a Requiem Bell
by Flashbeagle
Summary: Plucky reporter Kimberly Fox travels to Gracey Manor, where she discovers a haunting history that threatens her in a way she never imagined...Bonus Feature 4 plus a Sneak Peak!
1. Chapter One: Kim and the Manor

When You Hear the Knell of a Requiem Bell by Flashbeagle  
  
Author's Introductory Notes: I wrote this story months ago, before the Haunted Mansion movie came out. It's basically a cross between plot details from the movie, (those I heard about very early on) ride, and a character and situation I had already formulated. I based the Manor's back story on both the one given at the official Haunted Mansion movie website and the Ghost Gallery stories that can be found at doombuggies.com that were written by ride cast members. So anything that you find here in reference to the Haunted Mansion in any of its incarnations belongs to Disney. Certain characters are completely different from their movie correspondents. (For example, Ramsley and the Bride.) My heroine, Kimberly, was actually inspired by Becky Bloomwood, heroine of the Confessions of a Shopaholic series, and has a bit of Bridget Jones and Mia Thermopolis (The Princess Diaries) in her as well. The story's title is taken from one of the verses of "Grim Grinning Ghosts".  
  
Rated PG-13 for language primarily. My heroine has a tendency to curse while in distress.  
  
Chapter One  
  
My God, could this place be any bigger? I mean, it's just colossal! Gracey Manor, I mean. I nearly dropped my notebook when I was staring up at the place.  
  
Glad I didn't bring my camera. I probably would've dropped it and broken it, but I guess I'll just have to do that some other time.  
  
This is my first major assignment, and I get shipped to New Orleans to do a piece on a giant haunted house, which according to local legend, is home to ~get this~ nine hundred and ninety nine ghosts. That's a whole lot of dead people. I was actually thrilled when I got this assignment; much better than those stupid profiles and 'exposes' on San Antonio local monuments I've been doing since I got this job.  
  
By the way, I'm Kimberly Fox. I'm 24, and as you may have guessed, I'm a reporter. An investigative travel reporter for Carr News Service, to be precise, although from the stuff I've been doing, you'd think I'm just some school kid doing a stupid report on town history. I signed on with the travel bureau, and my boss, John Gilligan, thought it would be a great idea for me to explore my hometown and do reports on 'San Antonio's rich tradition of monuments', which all visitors to San Antonio are supposedly just 'dying to know about.' John, who moved to San Antonio from somewhere in the Midwest, adores the city and all of its mythology and such. The man would probably live at the Alamo if he could. When I got that duty, my stomach kind of flipped and I said quickly,  
  
"Uh, maybe I could do something more along the lines of investigative reporting?" I had offered kind of weakly. The picture was great in my mind. Investigative travel reporting? I pictured myself on a beach in the Caribbean, staying at the most luxurious hotels and looking for any small flaw in service. I saw myself being pampered by the hotel staff, dining on lobster until John said,  
  
"That's a great idea, Kim! I know people are crazy about the San Antonio attractions. You can give our readers a great picture of city life! And who better to write it than a hometown girl?"  
  
"Uh, yeah." I stammered. "Sounds great." At that point, I wanted to kill myself for letting my dad talk me into working in San Antonio.  
  
So for the past year, I've spent more time at Mission San Jose, the Alamodome, and the Alamo than I care to. I tried to get free tickets to a Spurs game, claiming that the SBC Center is a future city monument, but John said that would really be more of a Sports thing. Carr News is sort of like the Associated Press; the journalists write articles that are featured in newspapers all over the world and in the travel department's case, travel brochures all over the world.  
  
I will admit that I've enjoyed some of my assignments. The Majestic Theatre was fun. Sea World of Texas was even more fun. I barely did any work the day I was there. I just kind of played in the park, went on rides, got really wet, and did most of my article looking at a souvenir book I bought. My last article was on San Antonio's haunted hotels and the ghost stories behind them. Nearly every damn hotel in downtown San Antonio is haunted, or so they say. I was in some of those "haunted" hotels at what some psychic lady said was the "most opportune time for ghosts to emerge" and I didn't see anything or hear any ghostly brouhahas or feel any strange presences. None of my pictures came out with any ghostly orbs, the way some guy on the Travel Channel said they would. I'm naturally a skeptic when it comes to the supernatural, so if anything, my visits to the downtown haunted menagerie only proved what I've believed since I was a kid.  
  
The head travel editor loved the piece I did on San Antonio's haunted hotels, and John got him to give me an assignment for the national bureau that will appear on the cover of USA Today's Travel section, and may be picked up by many ghost enthusiast publications. My assignment was to fly out to New Orleans and investigate Gracey Manor, which was once home to an affluent family that was supposedly met with some kind of ruin. People are unsure of what happened here, and my assignment is to profile the house and try to figure out what happened here. Kind of a complex assignment yeah, but I didn't realize that until I was halfway to New Orleans. Ah, well, whatever. Like I said before, supposedly the house is home to nine hundred and ninety nine ghosts, but I really don't think that's possible, if ghosts even exist. I think that's just an excuse to turn the place into a tourist trap. Gracey Manor's located in kind of a swampy, deserted area of New Orleans, which was said to once be home to the socially prominent.  
  
Socially prominent. Ha! I like that term!  
  
Anyway, here I am. I'm supposed to meet the man who owns the place, a distant relative of the original owners or something and just outline what I'm doing. My actual work starts tomorrow. Actually I could start today, but I told my best friend, Ben Torres, who's also doing a piece out here in New Orleans, I'd meet him somewhere to eat Cajun seafood. Ben and I are food freaks; we know all the best places to eat back home, and anywhere we've been, which for us includes Corpus Christi, New York City, Orlando, Houston, Austin, and Dallas. I've known Ben since I was six years old, and we've been inseparable since. We even tried dating once, but that didn't work out too well.  
  
I blinked. Oh yeah, I'm supposed to be doing a job here. I walked up the colossal stairs to the mansion, and made sure I had everything I needed.  
  
When I'm on the job, I like to look professional. So I decided to wear a nice blue skirt, pressed white blouse, heels, and my glasses...even though I don't need them. I carried a brand new black notebook in one hand, with a new pen stuck into the cover. I walked with my head up high, adjusting my press passes. When I got to the porch, if you could call it that, I looked for a doorbell, but there was none. I shrugged and knocked on the door.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
So I knocked again.  
  
Again, nothing.  
  
I groaned and banged on the door. It was no wonder no one could hear me; that door was as heavy as lead.  
  
Still nothing.  
  
I rolled my eyes and opened the door for myself. I half expected it to be locked, but to my half surprise it opened easily. I stepped inside, taking in a giant, extravagant place. Ornately styled, it looked like no one had been inside for a hundred years, and everything was covered in dust. It was so weird...the dust looked like blankets over everything. The air was strangely heavy, and hard to breathe. A table with a lot of candles was laid out, in front of a fireplace with an old fashioned portrait above it. Four other portraits hung on the walls in a nearby corridor, and I examined them, but suddenly I felt really lightheaded. I looked around me, and everything looked so different, but exactly the same. It was as if I knew everything about the place already. Like, I had been here before, many times...It's like I'm spinning in circles. I felt kind of woozy, sort of like I was about to pass out or something...  
  
"Good evening, miss." A British accented voice said.  
  
I jumped, turning around to face a short, slightly portly man, with wiry white hair and sharp blue eyes.  
  
"Ooh, sorry. You kind of scared me!" I laughed.  
  
The butler (I guess. I'm not too familiar with these household type people...the very few rich people I know only have maids) looked at me very strangely. It was as if he couldn't believe he was seeing me, like it was impossible that I was standing right there in front of him. He looked like he'd just seen a ghost, to put it in an everyday term.  
  
"Um, hi!" I said, trying to get his attention.  
  
That jolted him back to reality.  
  
"Sorry," he responded slowly. "What did you say your name was?"  
  
"Uh, I didn't. I'm Kimberly Fox, from Carr News." I said politely, holding out my hand for him to shake, trying to project the image of a respectable, responsible journalist. He still eyed me strangely. As he very slowly shook my hand, I saw him look at my press passes, studying them.  
  
"Ah, yes. You must be the writer doing the piece on the Manor." He said incredibly slowly.  
  
"Yeah! Um, I just wanted to come over here, introduce myself, and um, I just wanted to let the owner of the place know what I'm going to be doing, you know, since I'm going to be ransacking through his or her stuff and all to get my info," I babbled. Uh oh. I'm babbling. When I do that, I'm either really nervous, or really creeped, and everyone ends up thinking I'm a total ditz, 'cause I have this tendency to do it at important events, since I get easily creeped out and nervous at stuff like that.  
  
Right now, I'm kind of creeped out in a different way.  
  
"Alright. I am Ramsley. Master Gracey has been expecting you." The butler said, motioning for me to follow him.  
  
Master Gracey? That sounds so 19th century! I had to stifle a laugh. The weirdest things amuse me sometimes. I guess, um, what did the butler say his name was? I'm terrible with names. Ramings? Rollins? Uh, I guess Rawley must work for Master Gracey personally.  
  
There were some weird pictures on the walls. One was of a girl with an umbrella, one of an older lady, one of a frowning man, and one of a smiling man.  
  
"Master Gracey rarely receives any visitors. This is a pleasure for him." Rodriguez was saying.  
  
"Um, yeah, great." I said, distracted. I was looking at a new group of weird pictures. This one picture looked like Napoleon on a horse. Well, I think it's Napoleon, anyway.  
  
"We often get lonely here. It's a large place and-"  
  
That caught my attention.  
  
"W-w-wait a second!" I stammered. "You mean he actually lives here?"  
  
"Yes, miss."  
  
"Whoa! But, this place has no electricity! No TV, no cable, no phones, no computers, no DVD players.... My God, how do you survive? Is there even a bathroom here?" I exclaimed incredulously.  
  
Ronaldson gave me an amused look. "We manage." He stated simply.  
  
I raised an eyebrow. Something about O'Reilly really freaked me out, but I couldn't quite figure out what.  
  
"How long will you be staying, Miss?" he asked me.  
  
"Uh, not very. I have to uh," Quick, Fox! Think of something intelligent to say, I told myself. "meet a colleague, to discuss our articles." I improvised. Well? You didn't expect me to say, "I'm meeting a buddy of mine to inhale Cajun food while guzzling down a few beers!" Which was the truth, of course.  
  
"I'll let Master Gracey know you're here." He said.  
  
"Ok. "I shrugged. I turned around to look at some more portraits, but as I did, my foot slipped and I crashed into the wall.  
  
"Owww!" I shouted. "Son of a..." But I caught myself, and just whimpered instead. I could've sworn I heard Thompson laughing at me.  
  
It seemed like forever until he came back.  
  
"Master Gracey will see you now. I hope I did not keep you waiting too long." Worthington said, motioning for me to follow him again.  
  
"Oh, no, not at all! Microsoft just came out with a new version of Windows while you were gone." I said.  
  
He looked at me confusedly, and moved on.  
  
We walked down a long hallway, one adorned with suits of armor.  
  
Suits of armor? That's odd.  
  
We arrived at two fancy French doors.  
  
"Master Gracey's in here." He said.  
  
"Um, okay. Thanks, uh, Wellsworth." I said, smiling weakly. I knew I had gotten his name wrong.  
  
He raised an eyebrow at me, but in a different way than I did to him.  
  
"It's Ramsley."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"My name is Ramsley, Miss Fox." He said, nodding at me before he walked away.  
  
Ramsley. Ramsley. Ok, I WILL remember that, I told myself as I opened the door.  
  
Acknowledgement and Endorsement Time!  
  
If you're a HM fan, I highly, highly recommend Tribute by Crescent Venus. It's over on the Sabrina, the Teenage Witch section, but even if you're not a big Sabrina fan, it's still understandable. It's based off movie, ride legends, and video game. It's got a GREAT plot and (one of my favorite things about it) it utilizes proper grammar! It's pretty rare to find a HM fan fic on the Internet- so it's a great thing to find one that's honestly well-written in both the plot and format department! As I write this, it's 11 chapters strong- with much more to come.  
  
Special thanks go to my friends Kate, Sarah, and Rebecca for reading this in its original draft and suggesting possible changes and plot situations.  
  
Special thanks are also due to Dominic Fiduccia, Lilac Moon, and Cmar for reviewing this story in advance. Thanks a million for all your help!!!!!!! It was greatly appreciated. 


	2. Chapter Two: Kim Meets the Master

When You Hear the Knell of a Requiem Bell by Flashbeagle Chapter Two  
  
Disclaimer: Um, the same as before.  
  
In this chapter: Kim meets Master Gracey and gets a little bit tipsy.  
  
"Miss Fox," a deep voice said the second I stepped into the room. The voice belonged to a man sitting at a giant desk. I could tell that he was very tall, and broad shouldered, with raven black hair and dark blue eyes under thick, arched eyebrows. His hair was an old-fashioned style, and he wore a blue shirt under an old-fashioned navy jacket. He was handsome, but in a freaky scary eerie sort of way. Kind of like a dashing, but evil, nobleman from some movie taking place in the 1800s. I can't describe what was so eerie about him...it was like there was some sort of aura radiating from him. And there was something about his eyes... "I am Edward Gracey. I have been expecting you." There was a slight Southern tinge to his voice.  
  
"Nice to meet you." I said. "Kimberly Fox, Carr News."  
  
He raised an eyebrow at me, similar to the way what's-his-face had. Oh God, I can't believe I've already forgotten his name. Real smart, Kim!  
  
"Yes, I know. Ramsley already told me all about you."  
  
That kind of put me on the edge. It had something to do with the way he said 'all about you'.  
  
"Oh, okay." I shrugged. I tried to find the right words to say, but I couldn't. Mr. Gracey kept staring at me, even more intently than the butler did, and it really disturbed me. I hate being stared at. I don't know why. It always scares me, even when it's non-threatening. It's just the feeling of having someone's eyes constantly focused on me....ugh. I was getting a LOT of that right now. And it's all about the WAY he looks at me...I can't describe it. It's like he's...studying me.  
  
"I just uh, wanted to introduce myself and uh, let you know that I'm planning to start tomorrow. Oh, and that I'll need um, access to any historical documents you have and that kind of stuff." I rattled nervously.  
  
"All of that can be found in the attic." Mr. Gracey said, standing up from his chair. "Would you like me to show you where it is?"  
  
"Oh, um, no! I promised an esteemed colleague of mine that I'd meet him to discuss some affairs." I said, hoping he wasn't able to tell that I had fabricated that very intelligent sounding line.  
  
An odd, dreamy smile crept across his face. "Yes, then. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, Miss Fox." He said.  
  
"Thanks, um, likewise." I mumbled, inching towards the door.  
  
"Would you like me to show you out?" He offered, looking me right in the eyes.  
  
"Um, no thanks, Mr. Spacely. I'm sure Rowlandson will do it." I blurted, barely even realizing what I had just said. Spacely? Where the hell did that come from?  
  
He gave me an amused look, similar to the way Williamson did.  
  
"Yeah, well, see you tomorrow!" I said as I walked out the doors.  
  
GREAT. That went well. I totally gave my spaced out ditz performance in there, didn't I? Spacely? Where did I get that from? I haven't even watched The Jetsons in years!  
  
But then again, it wasn't my fault I got so creeped out. If Mr. Gracey and Rolando hadn't been staring at me like that, I would've been able to hold my own.  
  
These were the thoughts swimming in my head when I exited the Manor. Rolferson wasn't anywhere to be found, but I managed to find the exit on my own. I noticed these creepy busts, like the ones in the movies that have eyes that seem to follow you everywhere you go.  
  
It was really easy to find the exit. Turn left one way, take a right, and voila, I'm in the foyer again. It was really weird; it was like I knew the layout of the place by heart or something. I really think that Rabsley should lock the doors, but whatever. If he wants his master's stuff to get stolen, that's his problem.  
  
As I left the Manor and got into my rental car, I had a weird feeling that I'd be seeing much more of Gracey Manor in the coming days than I wanted to.  
  
This would be SO much more enjoyable if the Manor was in the Caribbean on a beach with white sand, next to a fancy hotel that served crème brulee through room service.  
  
I went back to the hotel and changed into some more comfortable clothes, and took a taxi to the restaurant. No way was I going to drive myself. First off, I've never been to New Orleans before. Second, I'm probably going to be in some minor level of drunkenness when we finish eating, so yeah, not a good idea to drive.  
  
I got to the restaurant around 7:30, fifteen minutes later than I was supposed to. Of course, Ben was already there, happily drinking a Budweiser.  
  
When he saw me, he cracked up. "You're late, Fox."  
  
"What can I say? Punctuality is not a Fox family trait. Unless of course, it's David we're talking about." David is my older, perfect brother. 6'2, with flashing dark eyes and shiny chestnut hair, he's also apparently something of a babe. He graduated from Harvard and is now doing something with business up in New York. He's the pride and joy of our family. I'm the baby. My parents love to treat me like I'm seven years old. Ok, I will admit that in some ways, I am really immature, but still! Whenever I would point out how much they overprotect me, saying that they never did that to David, they always say,  
  
"David wasn't our baby."  
  
That never fails to piss me off. But enough about St. David...  
  
"Blaming your tardiness on genetics?"  
  
"When don't I blame something on genetics?" I muttered as I sat down. "Or my parents."  
  
The waiter came, and I ordered a Miller Lite, and we ordered some calamari for an appetizer. Ben and I love calamari. Yes, it's squid, and yes, the pieces that look like little octopuses are kind of gross, but it's also really, really good. As I was stuffing random bits of cephalopod into my mouth, Ben started talking about his new job, which had to do with overpriced hotels in the French Quarter. Ben is a financial travel reporter, because, like me, he likes to travel, and unlike me, he's good at math. I think Ben did my math homework all throughout high school. I never, ever got any sort of math more difficult than pre-algebra. My grade probably could have been higher, but I never turned anything in, due to the Montblanc Family Forgetfulness Gene, inherited from my mother.  
  
"And this really strange group of schoolgirls was just staring at me, as I stood talking with the concierge about inflation for five-night stays, and they kept giggling. I thought it was because, you know, I'm devastatingly handsome, but it turns out that I had gotten some mud all over the seat of my pants and, yeah."  
  
I burst out laughing. Actually, Ben is kind of handsome, I guess. I've known the guy since I was six; I still fail to see him as anything more than the kid who always squirted ketchup on his uniform blouse and could do a dead on impression of Garfield the Cat. Ben's as tall as His Royal Highness David of Perfection, has really bright hazel eyes, a perpetual great tan, and close-cropped black hair. He's also filthy rich; well, he will be. Both sets of grandparents are Mexican millionaires who live in these palaces in Cancun and Acapulco, and both Senora Torres and Senora Hernandes-Cortez look twenty years younger than they actually are, because of the extensive amount of plastic surgery they've had done, not to mention their wardrobes full of designer clothes. Quite a change from my grandmothers, Sherry Montblanc and Regina Fox, both stereotypical TV grandmothers who play bridge, brag about their grandchildren, knit lots of scarves and bake lots of cookies. But, I digress...Something I do a lot, actually.  
  
"How'd it go, anyway?" Ben asked.  
  
"Creepy as hell." I said, as a waiter placed some Cajun sausage in front of us.  
  
"How so?" Ben asked, grabbing the biggest link for himself.  
  
"Hey! Why do you always take the biggest piece?" I complained.  
  
"I've got better reflexes." He smirked.  
  
"You're such an ass."  
  
"Just making that observation now, Kim? So what happened? What was so freaky about an old mansion haunted by 999 ghosts?"  
  
"The owner and his butler, for one."  
  
"That's two." Ben mumbled, with his mouth full of sausage. Most people would get repulsed at that, but I'm used to it.  
  
"Whatever. From the minute I walked in, they both just kind of stared at me, with like, wide eyes. Their eyes followed me everywhere."  
  
"Probably thought you were a stupid ditz or something."  
  
"Could you possibly be any meaner to me?"  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
"Shut up, asshole." I said, rolling my eyes. Just so you know, 'asshole' is a term of endearment between Ben and me.  
  
"If they didn't at first, they had to by the time I left. I called Mr. Gracey "Mr. Spacely" and I couldn't remember the butler's name and called him something really, really off!"  
  
Ben burst out laughing. "Spacely? Kim, you're really something else, you know that, right?"  
  
"Yep. I'm starting with research tomorrow." I said. "I still wonder how the place got 999 ghosts, even though I don't think there are ghosts there." I noticed that my words were slightly slurred, which meant that I was tipsy. "I wonder why they decided to use the number 9-9-9. Maybe because it's one short of a thousand...Maybe cause it's a lot."  
  
"Maybe the inhabitants of a graveyard just walked over and started to throw parties." Ben suggested, sounding a little bit drunk himself.  
  
"I have this theory," I yawned. "That, like the place was built over an ancient Indian burial ground with like, five hundred graves, and then, some crazy guy killed two hundred people at a really crazy party, and two hundred and ninety nine more people like, relatives of the other people, like," I yawned in mid-sentence. "Came to another party at the house, and all died there too, and yeah."  
  
"I thought there were no ghosts there." Ben said sarcastically.  
  
"There aren't. But there has to be a story to why people would say, oh whatever. I don't care." I said. "I'm sleepy."  
  
When I got back to the hotel, I just kind of fell on my bed and went to sleep right on the spot. Well, no. I took a shower, put on my pajamas, wrapped myself under the covers, and then crashed out. I slept really well that night- not sure if it was the fatigue or the alcohol.  
  
When I got up, I kind of forgot what I was supposed to be doing. I was so comfortable in my bed, I didn't want to get up. It took me like, ten minutes to realize that I had a job to do.  
  
"Oh, crap." I muttered as I got out of bed, changed and got ready to go. Since I was just going to spend time in a hot, sweaty, attic, I saw no need to dress up. I just threw on some jeans, a short sleeved shirt, and grabbed a jacket in case it was cold in the Manor. I put my hair up into a ponytail, slicked on some lip gloss, and I was out the door. When I hopped into the rental Toyota, it was a perfectly sunny day. When I was halfway there, the sky was overcast. When I finally arrived at Gracey Manor, the clouds were practically black, it was thundering, and it was lightning.  
  
Sudden storm-like weather? Weird.  
  
Before I go in, I made sure I have everything I'm going to need; five- subject notebook, various pens and pencils, a digital camera, a regular camera, a flashlight, a magnifying lens, and a tape recorder. Ah, the tape recorder. A journalist's ace in the hole. As long as you have your tape recorder, you can have a full documentation of a conversation without even paying attention, which happens a lot to me, as I have a really short attention span.  
  
Too bad I always forget to turn it on. Ben says I should've brought an Ouija board or some mean of contacting the dead, but that's just dumb because it's not like ghosts even exist.  
  
I don't even bother to knock on the door this time. When I walked in, Dillingsham's nowhere to be found.  
  
Whatever. Mr. Gracey said something about the attic. I guess I should just go up there and start my research. I started up the stairs, but a startled voice came from behind me.  
  
"Miss Fox? Where are you going?"  
  
I turned around. "Oh, it's you, um, uh, um," I paused and snapped my fingers. "Wait, uh, er, ah..."  
  
"Ramsley, Miss Fox."  
  
"Oh, yeah, right." I laughed.  
  
"We weren't expecting you so early." Ramsley said. "May I inquire as to where you are going?"  
  
"Um, yesterday, Mr. Gracey said something about the attic, and um, I was gonna go find it."  
  
"Yes, well, please wait here. I'll go inform Master Gracey of your arrival." Grimbsy-oops-Ramsley said.  
  
"Why?" I asked. "Can't you just show me where it is?"  
  
Ridgely, er, Ramsley, paused. (Ramsley, Fox, Ramsley!) "It is Master Gracey's home, Miss Fox."  
  
"Ok, whatever. I'll just be waiting here." I smiled weakly.  
  
He slightly returned my smile and walked off. I just kind of tapped my foot on the stairs and ran my hands up and down the carving on the banisters. Someone sure took a lot of time to carve them, and why? They're all full of dust anyway.  
  
Not too long later, Ramsley returned with Mr. Gracey.  
  
"It's a pleasure to see you again, Miss Fox." Mr. Gracey said, smiling.  
  
"Uh, you too, Mr. Gracey." I said.  
  
"Ramsley tells me that you're looking for the attic?" He asked simply. I noticed he was wearing the exact same thing that he was wearing yesterday.  
  
"Um, yeah." I said.  
  
"Let me show you." He offered.  
  
"Ok." I shrugged. As we climbed up the stairs, he kept staring at me, but in a different way than yesterday. I can't really describe it, like he was happy to see me...like he missed me or something. 


	3. Chapter Three: Kim Finds the Portrait

When You Hear the Knell of a Requiem Bell by Flashbeagle  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Disclaimer: See Ch. 1  
  
As I follow Mr. Gracey through the Manor, I can't help but looking everywhere. This is a really big place, and a really elaborate one.  
  
"So, um," I start. "How old is this place?"  
  
"Built in the 1810s," he responded quickly. "By Ambrose Gracey, a sea captain."  
  
"An ancestor of yours?" I asked.  
  
Mr. Gracey raised an eyebrow at me, just like Ramsley did. (RAMSLEY! Yay! I remembered it!) "Yes."  
  
"Has your family always owned the house?" And the award for Stupidest Question Ever goes to...me!  
  
I got another strange look. He nodded.  
  
"Um, why does the house have 999 ghosts? I mean, that's kind of an ambitious number, isn't it?"  
  
"Miss Fox, has anyone ever told you that you ask a lot of questions?" Mr. Gracey questioned me.  
  
"Um, yeah. I'm a journalist. I get paid for it."  
  
"Why did you decide to become a journalist?" he asked me.  
  
"Um, I like to write, and um, I like to travel. And I like to talk and ask questions. Was kind of the perfect choice. I mean, can you picture me as a doctor?" Uh oh. Babbling again.  
  
He turned completely around and stared at me, examining me up and down, slightly smiling.  
  
"You're a very fascinating young woman, Miss Fox." Mr. Gracey said slowly.  
  
"Um, thank you?" I offered.  
  
When we arrived at the attic, Mr. Gracey showed me how to open the door.  
  
"But be careful," he advised me. "The ghost of Emily Gracey haunts the attic."  
  
I rolled my eyes. "Who's Emily Gracey?"  
  
"You shall find out soon enough. Do you believe in ghosts, Miss Fox?"  
  
"No." I responded.  
  
Mr. Gracey gave me a very mysterious smile, and his eyes flashed. "I think you may be surprised."  
  
And with that strange remark, he walked off. I shivered and walked into the attic. What is it about him that creeps me out so much?  
  
Of course Mr. Gracey thinks I'll be surprised by a ghost. He has to believe his house is haunted; it's his claim to fame.  
  
There's a stack of books on top of a giant trunk, so I figure that's where I'll start my research. I open up the backpack that my stuff is in, take out a notebook, a sparkly green pen, my flashlight, and get cracking.  
  
Like Mr. Gracey said, the house was built in the 1810s by Ambrose Gracey. Well, Ambrose didn't build it himself, but yeah, you get the idea. He had the house built with many secret passageways that led to a graveyard out behind the house. (A graveyard? Who the hell would want, or need, a secret passageway to a graveyard? I know this is New Orleans, but still....ew!)  
  
Anyway, on a trip to England, Ambrose met a pretty Frenchwoman named Juliet, whom he married and brought to the U.S. They started to have really great parties, and were "the toast of New Orleans society". (The book's words, not mine.)  
  
Ambrose and Juliet had four kids, the oldest of whom was George Gracey. George married a rich woman named Mary de Valle, and they had three children, two of whom died in childhood. After the death of her children, Mrs. Gracey fell into despair and died.  
  
Overcome with grief, George Gracey lavished his last son, and squandered a lot of money on the supernatural, and even moved a psychic named Madame Leota into the house, and she ended up falling in love with George.  
  
George, who was desperate to get more money, proposed marriage to his sixteen year old distant cousin, Emily Westin, who was some sort of millionaire heiress. On their wedding night, Emily was exploring the attic. Jealous Leota followed her up there, and locked her in a trunk. Still in her wedding dress, the bride suffocated. (When I read that, I looked suspiciously at the trunk where the books had been resting.) George found out about it, and he threatened to kill Leota. She tried to cast a spell on him, but it backfired, and she was trapped in her crystal ball.  
  
Well, that's quite a story. After I read that, I looked through the other books, but all I got was the same story, plus some really old pictures of George and Mary Gracey, and Emily Westin Gracey, who was a curly haired blonde (or redhead, not sure with these old black and white photos from the 1800s) with big eyes. I did some more poking around the attic, but all I found was some antiques, and this old locked journal that no matter how hard I tried, I could not get to open. Well, at least I didn't see the ghost of a bride locked in a trunk walking around...that made the experience slightly more pleasant. But then I felt lightheaded again, and I got wracked by a chill. I reached out my hands in front of me, and saw I was dressed very old fashioned.  
  
My hands flew up to my mouth, and I could hear the pounding of a heart. Too surreal to have been my own, but...Another chill, and I snapped out of it.  
  
Weird. I wonder what that was all about.  
  
The attic was getting kind of stuffy, so I decided to go out and look for information elsewhere in the house. Grimey- uh, or was it Flaherty?- and Mr. Gracey weren't around, and I didn't want to go looking for them, so I took a turn to the left and just walked down.  
  
I found myself in a seemingly endless hallway, and it took forever for me to walk across it. At the end of the hall was a dark foyer covered by a gauzy curtain and it was illuminated by a candelabra. I pushed my way past the curtain, and ....OH MY GOD.  
  
Oh my God.  
  
Oh my God.  
  
OH MY GOD!!!  
  
My jaw hit the floor. Oh my God.  
  
It's...me!  
  
Oh my God!  
  
I'm staring right at myself. A giant oil painting picture of a young woman, with a far off look on her face, in an old fashioned white dress, is hanging on the wall. But it's me! It's a painting of me!  
  
Everything about the girl is me! The eyes, the pale skin, the lips, same body type, same dark hair, same ears, the same nose, well, my hair has highlights now, but still!  
  
I'm suddenly cold. VERY cold. My pulse quickened. My heart is pounding. My breathing sounded funny. It was hard to breathe. There's a pounding in my ears. I can't breathe.  
  
A clock chimed. I jumped and ran out of there as fast as I could.  
  
As I'm about to open the door, I hear Mr. Gracey's voice, seemingly from nowhere.  
  
"Miss Fox? Leaving so soon?"  
  
"Um, yeah, I have to meet my colleague for lunch." I said really quickly  
  
"What a shame." He said from right behind me.  
  
I jumped again. How did he get there so fast? "Yeah, um, I'll be back tomorrow. Bye Mr. Gracey.". I'm trying to make a quick escape and Mr. Gracey wants to chit-chat. That's just great.  
  
"Goodbye, Miss Fox. I'll see you soon." He smiled at me, but before I could slip through the doors, he grabbed my hand and held it for a moment before he kissed it.  
  
"Call me Edward." He said.  
  
Oh my God. As if he didn't creep me out enough...  
  
"I gotta go!" I said, dashing to my car.  
  
Out of the corner of my eye, I could still see him watching me.  
  
I was so eager to get away from the Manor that I floored the car once I got into it. I wasn't worried about getting busted by the police...I doubted that anyone ever came out here anyway. Once I was far away enough from the Manor, I slowed down and picked up my cell phone and dialed a familiar number.  
  
"Hel-lo?"  
  
"Ben? You busy?"  
  
"Kim? Shouldn't you be working?"  
  
"I've had way too much of Gracey Manor for one day."  
  
"No, um, I was just gonna go to lunch right now."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"Kim, are you alright?"  
  
"Not really."  
  
"Well, what's wrong?"  
  
"Not exactly something that I can say over a cell phone."  
  
"Ok, well, I'll be at Taco Bell at the mall."  
  
"Taco Bell at the mall? How original." I said dryly.  
  
"Yeah, well, I have a craving for an Enchurito."  
  
"Ok, see you there." I said, hanging up quickly.  
  
I was there at the mall before Ben, probably because I was still speeding, but when we got there he kept bugging me to tell him what I was so off the wall about, but I refused until we had our food and I had some caffeine in my system.  
  
"Ok, Kim, what's wrong? You're acting way more spastic than normal."  
  
I took a deep breath. "After I finished some research, I left the attic and was walking down this really long hallway. Then, I saw this foyer, covered by a curtain and next to this candelabra. So I walked over there, and I saw this portrait." I took a bite of my burrito.  
  
"And?" Ben asked.  
  
"It was me! It was this giant oil painting of me!" I said.  
  
Ben rolled his eyes. "Ki-im."  
  
"I'm serious, Ben! Everything about the girl in the picture was me! The hair, the eyes, the nose! She had my nose, Ben! The same too straight nose! And the same ears!"  
  
Normally, Ben would've made a sarcastic remark about how I'm too touchy, but he didn't.  
  
"Were you scared?" he asked me.  
  
"Ben, I was terrified! I couldn't breathe, and my heart was pounding. I ran out of the place, but the owner stopped me."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I don't know. All I was thinking is why the hell is he trying to make chit chat when it's obvious that I've been scared out of my wits, and then he kisses my hand and tells me to call him Edward. Oh, and before, he tells me that I'm a very fascinating person or something like that and..."  
  
"Whoa, Kim, calm down!" Ben exclaimed.  
  
I took a deep breath. "Scared the shit out of me."  
  
"What's so scary about the fact that the guy's obviously hitting on you?"  
  
"It's all about the way he looks at me. He just stares at me! It creeps me out."  
  
"Kim, everything always creeps you out."  
  
"I know, I know. But this is too weird."  
  
"Is he old or something?"  
  
"I think he's in his thirties."  
  
"Married?"  
  
"I don't think so. I really think the butler would've mentioned a Mrs. Gracey, but then again he could just be a two-timing bastard."  
  
"Is he ugly or something?"  
  
"No, he's actually pretty good looking, but scary. And he has these weird eyebrows..."  
  
"Kim, I have never known you to ever be afraid of anyone you think is hot."  
  
"I never said hot." I muttered. "You can't think someone is hot if they scare you."  
  
"Why? Why does he scare you?"  
  
I shrugged. "I don't know. His butler scares me too, for some reason."  
  
"Maybe they're cursed pirates who turn into skeletons when moonlight hits them." Ben said wryly.  
  
Ben had to leave soon after, to get back to his article on overpriced hotels, so I just kind of lingered around the mall. Not a good idea, see, I'm kind of a shopaholic, and when I go to the mall, I always over do it. Always.  
  
And that's just what I did. My God, I'm pathetic. I spent fifty dollars at the Disney Store! And the only reason I even went in there was to look at the stuffed animals, but then I saw the DVD rack, and I suddenly remembered that I never bought The Lion King, and they had the CUTEST stuffed animals from Finding Nemo...Not to mention the $200 dollars worth of clothes I bought, plus a new pair of Nikes, and some new CDs, and a pretty bracelet for my mom, and a magnet for my dad, and something for my friend Tracy...  
  
When I left the mall, I was as happy as a clam. I hopped into the rental car, blasted my new music on the stereo, and I was all singing along and happy when I remembered what had gone on at Gracey Manor. Suddenly, I really wasn't in the mood for any of that. 


	4. Chapter Four: Kimberly and Katherine

Chapter Four

            I tried to keep my mind off Gracey Manor for the rest of the day. I watched a lot of cartoons and funny stuff, but ultimately something would always trigger my thoughts back to the bride in the attic, "you're a very fascinating young woman, Miss Fox", or that stupid painting.

            When I woke up the next morning, the very last thing I wanted to do was to go to Gracey Manor, but then I got the weirdest phone call. After I had gotten dressed, the phone in my room rang.

            "Hello?" I answered nonchalantly.

            "Miss Fox?" I recognized the voice as um, what was the butler's name again?

            "Yes?" I asked.

            "This is Ramsley, Master Gracey's butler. I was just curious as to what time you would be arriving at the Manor today."

            "Um…"I said, trying to think of a good time. I glanced at my watch. 10:30. 

            "I can be over by noon." I responded. I don't know what scared me more: getting a phone call from Ramsley or the fact that Gracey Manor has a telephone. 

            "I'll see you then." Ramsley said, and then he hung up.

            Suddenly, I dialed John, my boss.

            "Carr News Travel Bureau, San Antonio, John Gilligan speaking."

            "John? It's Kimberly."

            "Kim! How's it going?"

            "Fine, um, hey, just wanted to know, how did the idea for the article about Gracey Manor come about?"

            "Idea of a guy who works for the New Orleans bureau. He called the Manor and spoke with the guy who works there, who talked to the owner, and they thought it was a good idea. The New Orleans bureau thought it was a great idea, so they suggested it to the national bureau."

            "Ok, why did I get the job?" I asked.

            "Kim, you know that the national travel editor loved your piece on the Haunted Hotels."

            "Why didn't they just give it to some guy from the national bureau?"

            "I don't know. " John said. "I put in a few good words for you, and suddenly, Peterson's all 'I think Kimberly Fox would do a good job on the article.'" (Peterson is the head of the national travel department for Carr News.)

            "Okay." I said. "Just curious."

            I took my time getting to Gracey Manor. Even as I was walking to the mansion, I made sure to walk really slowly. I was half expecting Mr. Gracey to be waiting for me at the door, but thankfully, he wasn't. Neither was Ram-Ram….oh no, I forgot his name again! Damn it! I quietly walked up the stairs, hoping that I'd go unnoticed.

            "Miss Fox, hello." 

            No such luck, damn it.

            "Hi, um, Ram-sley?" I offered.

            He nodded. Yes, I got it right!

            "Um, I'll be going up to the attic now." I said quickly.

            "I'll let Master Gracey know." He said, and walked off. I'm not waiting for him this time. I snuck up the stairs, and instead of going to the attic, I headed for that painting.

            It's every bit as creepy today as it was yesterday, but at least I'm prepared for it. I examine it, looking for anything that will tell me more about it. But I don't see anything. Nothing at all. Crap. I headed back towards the attic.

            Nothing had changed since yesterday, but I decided to explore a cabinet I had passed over the day before. I just figured it probably had some old clothes or something. When I opened it, I half expected a bunch of bats to fly out at me, but nothing happened aside from some dust on top of it scattering everywhere.

            I sneezed and found that the cabinet had a lot of books and papers and stuff. The first book I reached for had a lot of photographs falling out of it. Most of them were of the older Graceys: Ambrose, Juliet, George, and Mary and one of a family I didn't recognize. Well, I recognized one member rather well…

            It was me. Well, not really. It was my doppelganger, with a man and woman I'm assuming are her parents. Funny, her father looks kind of like my dad and her mother looks kind of like my mom, but not really. She looks kind of young in this picture, and she looks exactly how I looked in high school. They're all dressed pretty simply, well, simply for rich people in the 1800s. I flipped the photo around and read, "The Frees family. 1876."  

             I wonder why Gracey Manor would have a big painting of her, since she's not a Gracey or anything. I put the pictures aside, and pick up a giant book. Most of the info in it is a lot of the stuff I read yesterday, but the information in this book doesn't end with the death of Madame Leota.

            According to the book, George Gracey's children were named Thomas, Angelina, and Edward. Thomas and Angelina Gracey died at the ages of 14 and 10, leaving 7 year old Edward the sole heir to the family's fortune. After his father died, sole ownership was passed on to Edward, who was supposedly very handsome and charming. He married the prettiest girl in New Orleans, Katherine Frees, in 1880 and they were very happy until Katherine's sudden death in 1885, when she was 23.  After his wife's death, Edward hung himself. After that, Gracey Manor fell into silence, and rumors of the many hauntings started. Ownership of the Manor fell into various hands, before a descendent of Theodore Gracey, Ambrose Gracey's second oldest son, was able to get it. I wonder why Mr. Gracey's parents named him after an ancestor who committed suicide. Maybe it was also the name of his dad's college buddy or something.

            I gulped nervously. I'll bet Katherine Frees is the same girl in the picture I just found. If she married into the Gracey family, it explains why her portrait's in the house. But it doesn't explain why she looks exactly like me! Okay, so I'm not going to get an answer about that, but still! And she was the prettiest girl in New Orleans? Even with my nose?  Suddenly, I have to find out more about her.  

            I open up a second book, and it's full of photos, many of them of her. It's so scary, examining pictures of someone who lived way over a hundred years ago, who looks exactly like you. One is labeled "Katherine Gracey, 1882." Another simply says, "Katherine." I shuddered. This is so weird. I just can't get over it. I stood up and started looking around the attic, for nothing in particular. I found the same diary that I did yesterday. I tried to jimmy it open again, and it took me forever, but I finally got it open. I read an inscription on the cover: "Property of Katherine Frees" is there, but underneath it is written, "Property of Katherine Gracey".

            Oh my God. This is her diary. Things just don't get any weirder than this. I wanted to know more about her and voila, there's her diary. There is something really very scary about that. My hands tremble as I page through it. The first couple of entries are boring, but then I get to an interesting one.

_March 3, 1879___

_            Today, we arrived at Gracey Manor, because Father is doing business with Master Gracey, who is the son of an old business associate of his. It's quite a place; very large and beautifully decorated. I went looking through the house, but Mother caught me and scolded me for being so curious. I remind her that I'm 17 years old, and I'm not a child. Mother says that's exactly why I shouldn't be exploring the house._

            Oh my God. Her writing looks exactly like mine.

_March 5, 1879___

_            Today, Master Gracey caught me exploring the attic. I was sort of nervous, but he said it was all right. He promised not to tell my mother. I explained to him why, and he completely understood. _

_March 6, 1879___

_            Master Gracey caught me looking through the graveyard today. He asked me why I was exploring it. I just said that I was curious. He then asked me if I wanted him not to tell my mother about this. I laughed and said, "Of course". He smiled at me. I felt very strange then, sort of like my heart was fluttering. Master Gracey's a very handsome man._

_March 13, 1879___

_            Master Gracey said he doesn't mind my exploring the Manor at all. I've been talking to him a great deal lately, whenever he's available. I love being with him. It's very strange. I can't quite explain it. It's a feeling I get when I look into his eyes. _

            That's interesting…I guess. If Katherine is to be believed, Old Master Gracey must have been a pretty cool guy, which is more than I can say for Senor Creepy Eyebrows.

_March 22, 1879___

_            I think I'm in love with Master Gracey. Today, I was looking around the Manor, and I was angry after my latest argument with my mother. I accidentally knocked over a bust of one of Master Gracey's uncles, and he saw me. I was flustered, and I started,_

_            "Oh, Master Gracey! I'm so sorry!" But he approached me, and embraced me, slightly running his hand over my hair._

_            "It's alright, Miss Katherine." He said. I thought my heart was going to burst. _

            Boy, Katherine sure had that school-girl crush thing going on for old Edward Gracey. Most of the entries in her diary about her exploring stuff and nearly getting caught by the butler or else how cute Edward Gracey is. Bor-ring.

_March 28, 1879___

_            Today, my father told me that he's arranged for a birthday party for me, and Master Gracey's agreed to have it here. I'm so excited! I can hardly believe I'm going to be 18 in a few days!_

_April 2, 1879___

_            My birthday's tomorrow! I can hardly wait for the party!_

          I gulped. Katherine Gracey's birthday was April 3? Oh my God. That's MY BIRTHDAY! Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. This is too scary. April 3, 1879? That's exactly 100 years before my birthday!

_April 3, 1879___

_Very late…unsure of the time_

_            What a day! What a wonderful, lovely day! Not only was the party wonderful, all my friends were there, and everything was perfect!_

_            Some time after the dancing started, Master Gracey asked if he could speak to me alone. I said yes. He took my hand and led me up the staircase, and then he gave me a small box.  I opened it, and inside was a beautiful golden necklace with a small, pretty diamond on it. _

_            My mouth fell open._

_            "Oh, Master Gracey…"I said._

_            "Happy Birthday, Miss Katherine." He said._

_            "It's so beautiful." I said._

_            "I thought it would be perfect for you."_

_            I asked him if he would put it on me, and he did. _

_            I KNOW I'm in love with him now. I know it._

_May 3, 1879___

_            Today, Master Gracey insisted that I don't have to call him "Master Gracey" anymore, that he's fine with me just calling him Edward. I responded that he didn't have to call me "Miss" Katherine anymore. It's odd, but I like it._

          I'm guessing he didn't tell her that after kissing her hand while she was trying to escape the place. Of course, Katherine probably would've liked that.

_June 13, 1879___

_            He loves me._

_            I don't believe it!_

_            I'm so…happy._

          Of course. 

_June 14, 1879___

_            Last night, Edward requested that I take a walk with him. My father was quick to note how eagerly I responded to his invitation. While we were out there, I noticed how beautiful everything was. I leaned in on his arm, and he looked at me and said,_

_            "I hope I'm not being too bold, but I love you, Katherine."_

_            My eyes widened, and I know I smiled foolishly. "I love YOU." I said. "And I have for a while."_

How maudlin. 

_August 3, 1879___

_            I can barely write, but I have to get this down._

_            Edward and I are engaged!_

_            Tonight, he asked me to take a walk with him again, as we've been doing since he told me that he loved me. I commented that it was getting late, and he turned to me, bent down on one knee, handed me a rose, and opened a box with a diamond ring inside. I could hardly breathe._

_            "Katherine, my darling, will you marry me?"_

_            "Yes!" I cried, tears running down my face. I threw myself into his arms. _

_            "My darling Katherine," he whispered into my ear. "I love you so much."_

_            "I love you." I said simply, as we broke the embrace and he slipped the ring onto my finger. It's so beautiful…I can't stop looking at it! I can't describe the rush of emotions I felt at that moment._

_            I love him so much…I'm so happy! Happy, happy, happy! _

_            Oh, I just want to BURST!_

            By that time, I was kind of bored with the diary. It was just a lot of fluff about how much Katherine loved Edward, and how she loved Gracey Manor and a lot of boring crap like that. One thing we definitely don't have in common is belief in ghosts. One entry went on an on about how she saw the ghosts of Ambrose and Juliet Gracey walking out in the graveyard and how she saw the ghost of Emily Gracey in the attic. I skimmed through the rest. 

            I wondered how long I had been up here. I had forgotten to wear a watch (There's the Montblanc Family Forgetfulness Gene again.) I was sort of sleepy, and really hungry.  I decided to stop my work for that day. I told myself that tomorrow I'd finish everything, even if it meant that I'd have to spend more than two hours there. I quietly opened the door and looked to see if either Mr. Gracey or um, the butler (I still can't remember his name! Dammit!) was around. I could hear some voices from the first floor, so I inched to the opposite hallway, but alas, I never have good luck.

            "Miss Fox?" It was the butler. I could see him and Mr. Gracey standing at the foot of the stairs.

            _Oh shit,_ I thought. "Um, hi."

            "Where are you going?" Mr. Gracey asked.

            "Um, looking for something." I muttered.

            "What is it? I'm sure I could help you." He said.

            "It's okay." I said, slinking off. 

            Whew. Glad I avoided that exchange. There has to be another way out of this place. 

            I walked past a couple of doors, and then I decided to open one and see what was inside. I found myself in a huge library, with shelves covered in old musty books. Most of them were classic literature, or collections of literature, or history or other stuff like that.

            I don't suppose I'll be finding any copies of How the Grinch Stole Christmas here. 

            Above one of the bookcases is what looks like an oil painting of Mr. Gracey, sort of like the one that's in the foyer. It looks really old fashioned, which brings up the question of why anyone would want a painting of themselves made to hang in a library that looks like it was last updated in the year 1900.

            But then again, he does live in a place covered in dust, so whatever.

            I picked up a really old book, and was flipping through the pages, and I felt sick to my stomach, a chill ran down my spine, and suddenly someone's holding me very closely, and then a deep, ghostly voice whispers in my ear, "My darling, I adore you."

Someone put a hand on my shoulder.

I screamed.

"Oh, I am sorry, Miss Fox! I did not mean to frighten you!" Just guess who that was.

"It's um, um, okay."

"What are you doing up here?" Mr. Gracey looked oddly happy to see me. Okay, so he's obviously got a crush on me, so of course he's happy to see me, but in this weird way…like he knows something I don't. 

"Um, was just curious."

"Did you ever find what you were looking for?"

"Huh?"

"You mentioned that you had been looking for something." Dude, shut up already! I just want to get away from him!

"Um, yeah. I got it. I dropped something earlier." I lied.

"That is good." He smiled. Then his eyebrows raised up. Ugh. Creepy. "Miss Fox? Will you be coming back to m-the Manor tomorrow?"

"Um, yeah. Why?"

"I was just curious."

"Um, okay." 

            So then Mr. Gracey smiled at me again, staring into my eyes with his strange, dark blue eyes. I've never seen eyes that color before. They're very…haunting. I never noticed this before, but his hair is pitch black. I've never seen anyone with blacker hair. And the fact that he's kind of unnaturally pale is weird. He's not pale in the way I am, but he looks kind of like he's been sick. Put that all together, and the fact that he really is very handsome, and it makes for a pretty scary picture. He put an arm on the bookcase next to me and sort of leaned in. 

            Oh God, I'm trapped! Please don't let him try to kiss me, because that looks like what he wants to do. He leaned in so close to me our noses were practically touching. He closed his eyes and smiled.

"I must go now. I have some matters to attend to." Mr. Gracey stepped back and opened his eyes, but stared into my eyes again. "Till tomorrow, my dear." My dear? Who is he, my **_grandmother_**?

"Uh, bye Mr. Gracey."

"Please call me Edward. There is no need for formalities between us, darling." He said as he left.

"Um, okay." God, I'm petrified! **_Darling_**? **_Darling_**? What is this, the 1850s? No need for formalities? You know what that means? It means he wants to get close to me. Very, **very** close. This is awful.

I shook my head and lost my balance and fell onto the bookcase, but then something really strange happened.  The entire bookcase disappeared, and a chute was opened! 

            "Holy shit." I muttered. "Wow." I put the book down, and looked down the chute. I don't know why I did this, but I decided to take my chances, and get the heck out of the Manor. So I jumped down, and it was like going down a slide…kind of fun. I wanted to throw my hands up and scream, "Woo hoo", but it was too narrow. 

            It was like the chute spit me out when the 'ride' was over, because I landed flat on my butt.

            "Ouch." I muttered. I stood up, and realized where I was.

            "A mausoleum?" I said.

            I opened the door to the outside, and I found myself in a graveyard. 

            I shuddered. I hate graveyards. Ben's parents force him to go to Mexico every year for Dia de los Muertos to decorate his great-grandfather's grave. According to them, it's a sign of respecting the person's life and celebrating it. 

            To Ben and me, it's just strange. Although I do like those skulls made out of sugar that Mrs. Torres always makes. Tasty, if not a little macabre. 

            I decided to look through the graves to see if I recognized any names, and I did; Mistress Katherine Gracey, Master Edward Gracey, Master George Gracey, Master Ambrose Gracey, etc. etc., and some I didn't. One I saw kind of confused me; Henry Ramsley. I wondered if he was any relation to Ramsley, the butler. I figured that he probably was, and that his family's been serving the Graceys since 1850 or something. 

            As I was walking out to my car, after nearly tripping on a broken headstone, I noticed something weird. Amongst all the graves, there were five busts, one of which was broken.

            I looked at them. They were all really realistic. I examined the broken one carefully for some reason; it was if I was drawn to it.

            "Looks like Walt Disney." I commented dryly. Then, it hit me. I wondered if this was the same bust that Katherine broke. I think it is…

            I blinked and decided that I'd had enough of Gracey Manor for another day. I think I'm sort of beginning to hate this place. I can't **_wait_** to see what will happen tomorrow. Perhaps I'll get stuck alone in a dark room with Mr. Gracey, but not before I find someone walking around the graveyard who just happens to be my exact double. Oh, won't that be **_fun_**?

            Shoot me.

Author's Note: Hey, the bust that Kim comments looks like Walt Disney isn't a bust of Walt Disney at all. It's a likeness of one of the world's most amazing voice-over artists, Thurl Ravenscroft! You know Thurl…Tony the Tiger, "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch", "No Dogs Allowed" from Snoopy Come Home AND a Singing Bust in the Haunted Mansion! Thurl performs the song on the attraction AND his likeness can be seen in the HM movie. The Singing Busts are my absolute favorite thing about the Haunted Mansion. They don't play a very big part in this story, though. 


	5. Chapter Five: Kim and the Truth

Chapter Five

            I hate nights when I can't sleep. That's what last night cracked up to be. I kept having all these dreams that I was Katherine Gracey. In my dreams, it was so weird, old 19th century Edward Gracey looked exactly like 21st century Edward Gracey and Ramsley was there too. (I guess that was what kind of creeped me out too.)

            There were no weird phone calls from Ramsley today, so I was able to stretch out my time as I pleased. I met Ben for lunch at a seafood place, which was really good, and I ingested so much popcorn shrimp, I felt kind of sick when I got to Gracey Manor. I had actually forgotten about everything as I opened the door to the Manor at about 1:15. 

            "Hello, Miss Fox." It was Mr. Gracey. Shit. After yesterday, I really didn't want to see him ever again.

            "Um, hi Mr. Gracey."

            "Edward, please." He said, as he stared at me. 

            "Uh ok. Then you don't have to call me Miss Fox, I guess. Everyone calls me Kim." I rattled. 

            "Alright, Kimberly." Mr. Gracey-excuse me, Edward-said. "May I offer you any help this afternoon?" He is so hopelessly antediluvian. 

            I shook my head.

            "You look so lovely today." He breathed. Well, THAT was out of left field! Even after yesterday! And I know for a fact I don't look nice today. My clothes are kind of dirty, my hair is a mess, and I'm paler than usual.

            I could barely hide my horror. "Th-thank you."

            Mr. Gracey just gave me that same smile he always gives me where his eyebrows raise up. "You are more than welcome, Kimberly." The way he says my name totally creeps me out. And the way he _looks_ at me, which can best be described as amorously, is equally disturbing. Ugh. Figures I'd have the crappy luck to get assigned to write a story about a place that has a painting of its old mistress from the 1880s who looked exactly like me and is owned by a guy who wears the same Victorian era thing every day and has an obsessive crush on me.

            "I really should get started." I said quickly.

            "Wait a minute, Kimberly, I'd rather like to talk to you for a moment."

            Crap.

            "About what?" I said. 

            "There is so much I do not know about you." He said. His eyes are just boring into me, causing a chill to run down my spine as he moved closer to me. 

            Crap. 

            "Um, I don't know anything about you either." I stumbled. _And I'd rather like to keep it that way! _ I'm really freaked out now. Scared, even. 

            "Come with me." He said, motioning for me to follow him. 

            "Uh, okay." Shit. Why did I say that? I could've said, 'No, I've got work to do.' Damn, damn, damn. 

            We're at the banquet hall door, and he holds the door open for me, just staring at me the entire time. I'm so on the edge I can't even muster a "Thank You."

            I blinked and shook my head. Mr. Gracey even walked ahead of me and pulled out a chair for me to sit at. He sat directly across from me.

            Good. Some space. Although not as much space as I'd like. 

            "Uh, this house has um, a really interesting uh, story. I think readers will be really interesting to read about it and how the people, uh died. The American public loves dead people! And uh, gross stuff." Where the hell did _that _come from? Oh God, get me out of here! 

            "So, Kimberly, where were you born?"

            "San Antonio." I said rather curtly, looking away.

            "What is your favorite color?" 

            "Blue." 

            Mr. Gracey laughed. "I might have known."

            Damn. I knew I should've said chartreuse! 

            "What is your middle name?"

            "Elizabeth."

            "Kimberly Elizabeth Fox." He repeated. "That's lovely."

            I have no clue what to say.  

            "Tell me, do you enjoy traveling?"

            "Yes." I answered, shaking. Well, duh. I certainly wouldn't have become a travel reporter if I didn't like to travel. 

            "What's one place you've always wanted to go?" You know who he reminds me of? The Grinch in Halloween is Grinch Night. I think it's the eyebrows, plus the whole aura of eeriness. I wonder if he has an armada of the un-human race locked up in some huge wagon. He is that weird.

            "Paris." I said nearly automatically. Well, actually, Disneyland Paris. See, I'm a huge Disney freak, and one day, I'd like to go to all the Disney theme parks in the world. So far, I've only been to Disneyland in Anaheim, and that was with Ben's family when I was 13.

            Mr. Gracey's eyebrows lifted up. I totally would not have been surprised if his eyebrows started flying around the room. "Of course." He said, giving me a smile.

            I **_knew_** I should have lied and said Abu Dhabi.

            "What is your favorite flower?" Flower? **_Flower?_**

            "Roses." I should have lied. Damn, it why didn't I lie? It's like I can't or something!

            "Yes. Yellow?"

            My stomach flips. "Yes." As a matter of fact, my dad gives me a dozen yellow roses every year for my birthday. One year, Prince David did the same for me, and included this sappy card about how great it is to have a sister like me. (I admit it; I was crying when I read it. I may hate him most of the time, but when you get down to it, he is the world's greatest older brother.)

            "Tell me, is your birthday April 3?"

            My mouth fell open. "Y-yes."

            "I knew it." He chuckled. 

            "How? Did they send you a fact sheet on me or something?" 

            "I know you." He grinned, with his dark blue eyes shining. 

            This is getting way too scary.

            "Um, you know, what, I, I have to start my work now!" I said as I jumped up. I ran upstairs to the attic, and locked myself in.

            For a while, I just kind of sat there idly. I wanted to waste as much time as possible. I started to write my article, and constructed a decent rough draft. I even read some entries in Katherine's diary that I had skipped over the day before. Most of them were about how much Katherine loved hosting parties with her husband, and how she always traced her husband's profile with her hands before she went to sleep every night. The last entry in her diary was about some big Mardi Gras party they were hosting, and how Katherine was planning on asking her husband to go on some big trip to France. After I read that, I yawned, walked around the attic, and decided to leave. 

            When I was walking down the stairs, I saw Mr. Gracey waiting for me.

Shit. Why does my life have to suck so badly?

            "May I see you for a moment, Kimberly?" he asked me. 

            "Um, sure." I can't bring myself to call him Edward. Way too weird.

            When I got to the foot of the stairs, he took my hand, forcefully, but gently, and led me to the hallway. There's something about him that reminds me of Count Dracula. If Dracula was an American Southern guy, not Transylvanian. I totally wouldn't be surprised if I found out he was a vampire.

            My stomach flipped.

            "Um, did you want to talk to me?" I offered weakly, my voice cracking.

            His hands went up to my face, and suddenly, he kissed me. Really kissed me. I mean, seriously. Intensely. 

            I tried really hard to push him away, but he was way too strong. 

            "Katherine," he murmured.

            I finally gave him a big shove.

            "You know," I started, disgusted. "If you're going to try to seduce me, at least get my name riii…you just called me Katherine, didn't you?" My jaw dropped.

            "I missed you so much."

            "**_What_**?"

            "You've been away for so long, Katherine."

            "You-you think **I'm** Katherine Gracey? You'd really want to kiss your dead great cousin aunt relative person?"

            "Of course not. But my wife…"

            _Wife?_ Oh my God!

            "Who _are_ you?" I demanded.

"Edward Gracey. Your adoring husband. Son of George and Mary, grandson of Ambrose, original owner of the-"

            "But he's _dead_!"

            "Whoever said I was alive?"

            Oh my God. 

            One thing popped into my mind. "You're a g-g-g…"I trembled. 

            "Ghost?" He smiled.

            I took a step back. "Ghosts don't exist." I stumbled.

            "I told you that you would be surprised."

            "B-b-but you're not a ghost! Ghosts are all see through or bony or green or floaty or"

            "You don't know much about ghosts, do you, my darling?"

            I stumbled backwards again. I have to get out of here. I, I…

            He took a step towards me, holding his hand out to me. "Come to me."

            "No! Get away from me!" I shouted. 

            "Come to me, my love, so that we can be together again." What a cliché lovesick ghost line. "I was so worried I'd lost you forever. Fate was so kind, bringing you back to me. If you do not remember, I shall help you! Soon, you will remember everything! Oh, Katherine. I've waited for you for so long. I missed you so much, my darling. But now, now we'll never be apart!" He grabbed my hand and kissed it. "Just you and me, Katherine, together forever." 

            "N-no!" I shouted, and I ran down the hallway. I have no clue where I'm going, plus I need to throw up, but-

            "Going somewhere, Mistress Gracey?" Ramsley said from behind me. 

            "Get away." I groaned. I tried to push him away, but he wouldn't budge. Edward Gracey is closing in on me as well.

            Oh my God. Oh my God. 

            "Katherine," he began.

            Everything started to swim before my eyes, and I fell to the ground. 

            They were both hovering over me. Edward reaches down and I grabbed his hand, and with more physical strength than I knew I had inside me, I pushed him to the ground and ran. Ignoring them completely, I dashed out of the house, hopped in my car, floored it, and didn't look back once or slow down. I just couldn't get away fast enough. 

            Screw the damn article. I am never going back there. NEVER.

Reader Reaction Time:

To Dominic: My PR version of The Haunted Mansion is much, much closer to the movie, which I actually found quite lacking...as there was no one for me to drool over! (LOL. I **_swear_** Disney should've put Glenn McMillan in as Eddie Murphy's adopted son or intern or something! But enough about my Glenn obsession…) Speaking of the PR/HM endeavor, there's much more to cover there…But I'm so glad you like it! 

To Cmar: Yeah, I know the grammar's kind of shifty, but other than that, I'm glad you like it. (First person narrative is actually a lot harder than I thought!) Kim's one of my favorite characters I've ever written. I like her so much that I'm going to make her an ongoing character.

To Andrea: Thanks so much for the review! I totally appreciate it!


	6. Chapter Six: Kim Tries to Go Home

When You Hear the Knell of a Requiem Bell by Flashbeagle

Disclaimer: MUST I bother with this?

In this chapter: Kim just wants to be free from Gracey Manor forever, but it's not through with her, and it's her own fault…

Chapter Six

             I'm speeding, but I don't give a shit. When I get to the city, I'm going to go talk to Ben, go to the hotel and pack, and then I'm going home.

            You don't get kissed by a ghost who thinks you're his **_dead wife_** and be expected to stick around.

            I don't believe this. I don't. None of this is even possible. I can barely even register a coherent thought. I wasn't just creeped out back there, okay. I was scared. Really scared. Frightened! Horrified! How can a ghost have a body? How? Okay, so I know now that can sort of happen, but it shouldn't! It shouldn't! Ghosts shouldn't be able to touch people! Ghosts shouldn't even be able to _talk_ to people! I felt him touch me. Worse than that, I felt him _kiss_ me.  I-I don't even know what to think anymore. 

            I did slow down when I got to the city. Ben told me that he'd be at the Westbridge Hotel, which was exactly where I was headed. Ben, I saw, was finishing up with his interviews as I entered the hotel. As he walked away from them, I shouted,

            "Ben!"

            He took one look at me, and ran over with a look of concern. I must look seriously disturbed. 

            "Kim! Kim, what's wrong?"

            "I'm going back home." I said decidedly.

            "What? Why?"

            "I can't stay here. I can't."

            "Why?"

            I stared up at Ben, my best friend. 

            "It's too weird. You'll think I'm crazy." And trust me, Ben's heard a lot of crazy stuff from me over the years.

            "Kim, **tell me**."

            "Come with me to my car. I'll tell you there." I said.

            Once we were safely in my car, with the doors locked, I started.

            "So okay, I'm there at Gracey Manor, and when I get there, Mr. Gracey is just like, waiting for me. He says something like, how he doesn't know anything about me. And then he asks me to go talk to him in the banquet hall, and he asks me all these questions and he's like, like, like,"

            "Kim, calm down." Ben said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

            I took a deep breath. "Ben, it's like he knew everything about me already. And then I totally got away to go do my research, and then he was there, waiting for me." I hesitated again. "Then he takes me aside, and he kisses me, and calls me Katherine!"

            "Katherine, the girl in the painting who looked exactly like you?"

            "Exactly. So I ask him why he'd want to kiss some girl who looks like his relative or whatever, and then he says no, but that his wife is a different story!"

            Ben's eyes are wide. "Go on."

            "Then he tells me who he is, and I realized he's a ghost and he tells me I have a lot to learn about ghosts and," I shivered. "And then I tried to run away, but the butler came to try to stop me, and then I fell and then I ran and then I left and well, here I am now and you think I'm crazy, don't you?"

            "No." Ben said thoughtfully. "I think he's the crazy one, Kim. He sounds seriously disturbed. I'd be careful, if I were you."

            "I'm gonna call John when I get to the hotel, and tell him that I quit." I said. "I don't care if I have to do another stupid article on the stupid Alamo. I have to get away."

            "When are you gonna go back to San Antonio?"

            "ASAP. I don't care if it's a red eye flight and I'm surrounded by screaming kids. I'm leaving."

            Ben sighed. "Too bad. You know what tomorrow is, right?"

            "Mardi Gras!"

            I blinked twice. How could I have forgotten?

            "Yeah."

            "Crap." I moaned. "This is just not fair. But I can't stay in New Orleans!"

            "I know. It's just not gonna be any fun without you, Kim."

            Suddenly I was filled with much hatred for Gracey Manor. Thank God I'm never going back. 

            I dropped Ben off at the hotel and then I went to McDonalds for something to eat. (For someone just traumatized, I sure ate a lot.) When I finally got back to the hotel, I let myself in and reached to my side to get my purse, I could call and bitch at John. There was nothing there. (My car keys had been in my pocket, and my money and hotel keycard were on the passenger seat of the car.)

            "Shit!" I cursed. "Shit, shit, shit! What did I do with it?"

            I ran, frenzied out of my mind, downstairs to the parking lot, and I practically tore apart the car looking for my purse, but nothing was there.

            Oh wait. My purse is in my backpack. Duh.

            Another search through my car, and at the end of it, I can't find my backpack.

            Crap. I KNOW I had it this morning.

            Then a chill wracks my body.

            I see a vision of myself dashing out of Gracey Manor **_with no backpack_**.

            I see myself walking down the stairs **_with no backpack_**.

            I see myself arriving in the attic, putting my backpack on the floor, next to the trunk.

            Oh no.

            Oh _no._

            No, no, no, no, **no**!

            My backpack, with my purse, is leaning against a giant black trunk in Gracey Manor's attic. 

            I can't go back there!

            I can't!

            But I _have_ to! I mean, it's not like it's just some pens and notebooks and other crap like that, it's my _purse_.

            My purse. With my cell phone. And my wallet, with my driver's license, all my vital information, my credit cards, a good amount of money….My checkbook's in there, too, along with an address book, some tubes of lipstick, tweezers, and a pack of gum, plus my press pass, which I crammed into it when I got to the attic.

            Oh my God. **How** could I have been so **stupid**???

            Now I _have_ to go back there. There's no way I can just let that stuff stay there. I mean, my _driver's license_? Thank God nobody busted me for speeding! THANK GOD!

            My stomach flipped. My nerves tensed. I can't do this. I can't go back there. I CAN'T.

            But I have to.

End Notes: I missed my **_vendredi_** (Friday) update, so you get THREE chapters today, Saturday. 


	7. Chapter Seven: Kim Sneaks Around

When You Hear the Knell of a Requiem Bell by Flashbeagle

  
Disclaimer: Kim's 100% my own creation, although she does owe some of her personality to Becky Bloomwood, Mia Thermopolis, and Bridget Jones, the wonderful literary creations of Sophie Kinsella, Meg Cabot, and Helen Fielding. The Disney characters have been pretty radically changed, but they made them up, not me, so they belong to them. "Grim Grinning Ghosts" is the brainchild of Buddy Baker and X Atencio. You know, G G G totally scared me on my old Disneyland Fun Sing-A-Long video…to this day those stupid dancing trees disturb me. A four year old friend of mine (she's like a little sister to me) has that same video, and when I told her G G G used to scare me, she looked at me and said, "It's not real!" She's not a fraidy cat like I was at that age. She loved Halloween is Grinch Night, which scared the living daylights out of me…and I didn't even watch the cartoon. (There was a promo for it on my Cat in the Hat video) I love both G G G and Grinch Night now, though. I think they should make Grinch Night into a Broadway musical, that's how much I love it! Okay, um, story…

In this chapter: Kim goes back to Gracey Manor, and tries to get her stuff back as stealthily as possible, but something very strange happens to her…Plus, a group of singing busts make their first appearance! Yay Singing Busts!!!!!!!

Chapter Seven

            _This has been by far, the weirdest day of my life ever_, I thought as I slowly drove back to Gracey Manor.

            I tried to improve my mood, but music just didn't do it for me this time. 

            I shut off the radio, and made the rest of the journey in silence, trying to figure out what I'd do when inside the Manor. 

            With any luck, Gracey and Ramsley wouldn't be there at the door. If they weren't, which I hoped would be the case, I'd just sneak up the stairs, grab my backpack, leave through that chute in the library or through whatever exit was safer, and be done with the place for forever.

            I'm going to have to be quieter and sneakier than I've ever been before.

            It's time to channel my inner Fox. (Fox? Channel? I actually started to laugh out loud. It's amazing what kind of stupid things you'll do when you're scared out of your wits.)

            When I got out of the car, I had my fingers crossed. _Be quick like the Fox. Quick like the Fox, _I thought over and over. I quickly ran to the porch and opened the door, eager to get this over with, and opened the door, which was kind of hard to do, being that nearly all of my fingers were crossed. 

            There was no one there. (Finally, some luck!)

            I actually walked on tiptoes up the stairs, not making one noise. I was proud of myself. When I got to the attic, I grabbed my backpack and rummaged through it to make sure everything was there.

            But my five subject notebook was missing! And so was my driver's license! And the photo insert from my wallet, which was mostly pictures of me at various ages, along with one of Ben, one of my parents, one of St. David the Perfect, and one of my paternal grandparents, Blake and Regina Fox.

            I gulped. Gracey and Ramsley were sure doing their best to try to keep me there. But I had to live up to my last name. "It's hard to outsmart a Fox," my grandpa Blake always says. Let's home this Fox can follow suit.

            Edward Gracey enjoys hanging out in his old office, so there's a good chance that he'll be there. Ramsley, I'm not so sure of.

            I need a plan.

            What if I…nah, too stupid.

            What if I…nah, I don't have one of those.

            What if…nah, the Ghostbusters aren't real! 

            OK, I need to think straight. Hm…

            I've got it! It's really the only think I can do. Sneak around the house, poke through the rooms, and look for my stuff. Unoriginal, yes, but it's my only option.

            This place is really big, so at my reduced speed, it took me forever to scour the place, being that I went into nearly all the rooms and looked in every nook and cranny for my stuff. No such luck. There were no traces of Gracey or Ramsley, which was fine by me. Any time away from them is great, as far as I'm concerned.

            I was passing by the office, when I heard two now familiar voices. My first instinct was to run away, but instead I pressed my ear to the crack in the double doors, and listened.

            "Master Gracey, do you really believe that she'll stay?" Ramsley was saying. 

            "Of course. She belongs with me."

            "Well, sadly, she seemed rather…disturbed." Disturbed? Pfft. That wasn't even half of it.

            "I'm sure she'll remember. She's scared now, but Katherine will come around eventually." Katherine would, but Kimberly Fox won't.

            "Ramsley," he started. "I can't lose her this time. Now that she's back…everything's different. I haven't been this happy, well, since _that night_. I must have Katherine back. I need her. Everything is so empty without her. Tomorrow night must go right. It must." He sounds so sad; I almost feel a shred of pity for him. Almost. And what about tomorrow night? It clearly has something to do with me. I feel sick…

            "She loved you so much." Ramsley reflected. "But it's so different now. She seems…afraid of you." 

            Ramsley, you don't know how right you are, buddy.

            "I know. And I hate it. I cannot bear it." Edward Gracey said hoarsely.

            Suddenly, everything swam before my eyes. When I opened them, everything was different, but the same. Everything looks new. My hair is done up strangely. I'm wearing this long white dress. I can hear Master Gracey and Ramsley talking, and I wonder if they know I'm here. I touch the necklace Master Gracey gave me for my birthday, and I wonder if I'll ever be able to let him know how much I love him…

            Then I snap back to reality. Everything sounds and looks fuzzy. My head is swimming. 

            And then I ran. I ran up the stairs and to the library. I grabbed the right book, and slid down the chute. 

            When I emerged from the crypt I ended up in, I was shocked to find out that it was nighttime already. 

            Crap.

            This place is scary enough, and here I am, in its _graveyard_, at nighttime. 

            I walked along the pathway, shivering and shaking. That's when I saw those five busts, and then it happens again, after I practically trip over the broken headstone again.

            "Are you mad at me for breaking the bust of your uncle?" I ask Master Gracey meekly.

            "Miss Katherine, I could never be mad at you." Master Gracey says, smiling.

            "Never?" I ask.

            "Never." He responds, and I know I'm blushing wildly. He must see it all in my eyes. 

            I blinked again, and it feels like my throat's closed up. I felt like I had strep throat or something. Someone, or something, was singing.

**_When the crypt doors creak and the tombstones quake_**

**_Spooks come out for a swinging wake_**

**_Happy haunts materialize_**

**_And begin to vocalize_**

**_Grim Grinning Ghosts come out to socialize_**

            Oh my God. Those busts. They're….**_singing_**! They're singing! 

**_Now don't close your eyes and don't try to hide_**

**_Or a silly spook may sit by your side_**

**_Shrouded in a daft disguise_**

**_They pretend to terrorize_**

**_Grim Grinning Ghosts come out to socialize!_**

            I'm just standing there, staring at the singing pieces of cement, unable to move. This is too weird.  Normally, I would quite enjoy such a zany display of anthropomorphism, but this just isn't a good time…

****

**_As the moon climbs high o'er the dead oak tree_**

**_Spooks arrive for the _****_midnight_****_ spree_**

**_Creepy creeps with eerie eyes_**

**_Start to shriek and harmonize_**

**_Grim Grinning Ghosts come out to socialize!_**

            I could hear what sounded like a church bell ringing as they sang. 

****

**_When you hear the knell of a requiem bell_**

**_Weird glows gleam where spirits dwell_**

**_Restless bones etherealize_**

**_Rise as spooks of every size…_**

            At that moment, in an explosion of sounds, these corpses burst from their graves, cackling and howling as ghouls swoop down from the dead oak trees, and a something hit me in the head.

End Notes: You'll notice that the tense changes when Kimberly has the flashbacks of Katherine's life. That's intentional, just so you know!


	8. Chapter Eight: Kim Thinks About It

When You Hear the Knell of a Requiem Bell by Flashbeagle

Disclaimer: I own Kim, Ben, and their world, such as Carr News. The Gracey Manor stuff traces back to the HM movie, ride, and lore.

In this chapter: Kim comes to terms the fact that she might be Katherine's reincarnation.

Chapter Eight

            It hurt to open my eyes.

            When I finally did open them, it was morning, but I wasn't in the graveyard anymore, I was in an antiquely decorated room. My backpack was on the ground next to the bed, and on a night stand were my notebook, driver's license, and the photo insert from my wallet.

            I'm willing to forget that yesterday ever happened if I can just get the hell out of here without interruption.

            I stuffed everything into my backpack, and opened the door.

            "Mistress Gracey," Ramsley said immediately as I opened the door. 

            I groaned. "Oh no. Look, I'm not Katherine Gracey, I'm Kimberly Fox. I'm not your dead mistress, I'm a reporter from-"

            "Your husband would like to speak to you." Ramsley continued, totally ignoring me. "He's in the banquet hall, waiting for you."

            Is it me, or did it suddenly get colder in here?

            I have to stand up for myself. 

            "No." I said crossly. "I don't want to talk to him."

            "Master Gracey was rather insistent."

            "Well, so am I." I scowled. "Now, just leave me alone." I pushed past him and walked smack into Edward Gracey.

            "Katherine, my darling, where are you going?"

            "Home." I muttered.

            "You are home." He just smiled at me very invitingly…or it would be if he wasn't a dead man convinced I'm his wife and wants to do something to me tonight that will result in me never leaving this awful place.

            I gave him a very cold look. "Last I checked I lived in San Antonio. You should know that, considering you stole my _driver's license_ yesterday!"

            I walked past him, but he grabbed, no, make that _yanked_, my arm.

            "We need to talk."

            "No, we don't."

            "This is where you belong."

            "No! Just leave me alone!"

            "Don't do this to me."

            I pulled my arm back, but he wouldn't let go. He kept staring up at me like a lovesick puppy dog.

            "Damn it, just let me go!"

            "You have never been so-"

            "How would YOU know? Damn it, face the facts! I AM NOT YOUR WIFE!" I shouted. I was really mad now.

            "Katherine."

            "It's Kimberly."

            "You must remember somewhere inside of you," He said gently. "Don't be afraid and fight it." He tightened his grip on my arm.

            "Yeah, well, quite frankly, what I'm afraid of, Mr. Gracey, is YOU." And then I finally got my arm back, and walked off in a huff. 

            I could hear them calling after me (Oh excuse me! Calling after _Katherine_) as I stormed down the stairs, but I didn't care. I was just about to open the door and be through of the place forever, when Edward Gracey appeared in front of me.

            I screamed.

            "Please don't go." He begged me. "You must stay with me. I refuse to let you abandon me!"

            "Forget it." I said, perturbed. "I have no desire to ever spend any more time with you, ever again."

            He paused and lifted a hand to my cheek.

            Now normally, I would've been really pissed off, but it happened again. I'm in old fashioned clothes. My hair is weird. I'm about to kiss my husband, and ask him not to go to work, because I want him here with me.

            "Katherine?" His deep voice asks.

            "Yes?" I respond, as he leans in closer to me and kisses me….

            That does it. I snapped out of it. Then I realized that I just made a fatal mistake.

            I answered to "Katherine."

            Uh oh.

            I turned away and ran.

            Any smart person would have ran out the doors, but my stupidity prevented me from doing that, and I ended up in the attic.

            I really don't know why I didn't just leave, but I guess it was the insanity of the moment. I didn't bother to lock the door; if he can just appear in front of me like that, what's the use of locking it?

            I hoped that the ghost of Emily Gracey would refrain from appearing to me. I've had enough of the Gracey family ghosts for one day…make that a lifetime. I just….

            I don't understand anything that's happened. This is too weird. This is all impossible.

            What's going on? What is happening to me? Why do I keep having flashbacks of Katherine Gracey's life? It's not like I read that stuff. The only logical explanation is the most illogical thing I've ever heard before.

            I, Kimberly Elizabeth Fox, am the reincarnation of Katherine Frees Gracey. 

            But if that's true, wouldn't I have been having flashbacks for, I don't know, my entire life? Wouldn't I be in love with Edward Gracey? Wouldn't I have recognized this stuff when I first got here? Wouldn't I have been able to remember Ramsley's name? Wouldn't I want to stay?

            But if it is true…I feel used. I mean, it's like I've gotten a used face, and a used soul at that. That I'm not myself. I'm not me.

            I hate this. I hate it.

            Okay, let's face it. Katherine Gracey and I really aren't much alike, when you push aside the coincidental stuff. I mean, A LOT of people want to go to Paris.

            But then again, some of this other stuff is way too scary for me to even want to understand.

            This is all my fault. WHY couldn't I have remembered my backpack yesterday? WHY? Then I'd be gone, and home and

            Wait. Today's Mardi Gras! I yanked my cell phone out of my backpack.

            Ben picked up a few split seconds later.

            "Ben? It's Kim."

            "Kim? Are you home yet?"

            "No." I groaned. "I'm at Gracey Manor."

            "Well, at least you're not in downtown New Orleans. It's a circus out hee—you're where?"

            "Gracey Manor."

            "Kim! I thought you said you'd never go back!"

            "I did. But I left my purse here."

            "Do you need me to come help you?"

            "Nah. I'll escape. Are you doing anything for Mardi Gras?"

            "Um, yeah. Going to avoid the crazy places and go to that Cajun restaurant we went to last weekend. It's in a quieter area of the city."

            "You'd never know it's Mardi Gras here." I remarked.

            "Kim, are you sure you're okay?"

            "I'm fine. I'll be okay."

            "See you later on, Fox. Stay alive."

            "I will."

            I hung out in the attic a little bit longer. I started to revise the rough draft from yesterday until I got bored.

            Then, a thought popped into my head.

            How did Katherine Gracey die? 

            Was it a natural thing?

            Or was it murder?

            She was only 23 when she died. Maybe she had some sickness that nobody knew about?

            I have to find out.

            Slowly, I crept out of the attic, relieved to see that Gracey and Ramsley weren't there.

            I tiptoed down the unfamiliar hallway, the one without the portrait and the library. The first door I opened was a rickety old staircase. I followed it down, and found myself in a huge, giant room with dusty chandeliers and a section closed off by crimson curtains.

            I took my chances and pushed the curtains aside.

            There was a table draped in purple cloth with a giant glass ball. Quietly, I approached it. Then, the ball did a 360-degree spin, and the green face of a woman with wild black hair faced me.

            "I am Madame Leota, seer of all!" She proclaimed.

            As creepy as that was, I wasn't scared.

            I guess I must be getting used to all this. 

End Notes: In the next chapter…Kim finds out what happens to Katherine.


	9. Chapter Nine: Kim Meets Madame Leota

When You Hear the Knell of a Requiem Bell by Flashbeagle

Chapter Nine

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.

Chapter Nine

            "Who are you?" Madame Leota asked.

            "Shouldn't you already know that, if you're a seer of all?" I asked, mockingly. 

            "You are Kimberly Fox."

            "Damn straight! Finally someone in this house gets it!" I rejoiced. I noticed Madame Leota looking at me, and then I remembered. Madame Leota! The gypsy who killed Emily Gracey! That should have scared me, but it didn't.

            "What would you like to ask the spirits?"

            Normally, I would've laughed my ass off, but for some reason, I didn't.

            "Um, how did Katherine Gracey die?"

            Madame Leota closed her eyes. "Dark spirits come forth!"

            "Maybe this was a bad idea." I said, as what looked like black fog seeped into the room

           All the fog congregated into the crystal ball, and Madame Leota's face faded away, and I was able to see a picture of a large ballroom, with lots of people standing around, and talking, in elaborate costumes. Edward Gracey is in the center of all of them. Ramsley, I'm guessing, is there next to him.

            "Master, I think we should start." Yep. That's definitely Ramsley. 

            "No." Edward said, looking down. "Katherine's not here yet. I won't start without her."

            Ramsley nodded to him. "Alright, Master."

            The picture then switched to a dark night, and a crashed carriage off to the side of a road.  The vision slows down, and suddenly I know what happened.

            I turned away from the crystal ball, the scene playing over and over in my mind.

            "Are you alright?" Leota asked.

            "So that's what happened. "I reflected. "She was coming home one night, her carriage crashed, and she died." I didn't want to look back at the vision. Seeing some girl who looks exactly like me dead in a crashed carriage is not exactly something I'm too keen to see. Although I will admit it's better than her getting murdered or committing suicide or something. If a situation like that can be made better.

            It continued on to show time passing, and the guests at the ball getting impatient.

            "Master, I truly think that now-"

            "No!" Edward shouted. "Not without Katherine."

            "But, Master, I-"

            "NO!" 

            Then, a strange knocking resonated on the door.

            Suddenly, I know what happens. It all flashes through my mind. I see a pale faced messenger talking to Edward. I can see, and hear, Edward wailing and sobbing. 

            I shut my eyes and instead looked at the apparition on the crystal ball.  

The vision changed, showing a darkened Gracey Manor, with Edward, a defeated look in his eyes, standing alone, high in the first portrait room of the house. He's holding one end of a noose in his hands. The other end, I can see, is tied up on the ceiling. 

            And then, the vision ends, thank God. I really don't want to see someone commit suicide. I felt really bad for him, though. I mean, even though he's a scary ghost who thinks I'm his dead wife reborn, he's also just a widower who adored his wife and really misses her. I thought about what my dad would do if something happened to my mom, and what David would do if something happened to his wife Corrine. They'd be absolutely, totally depressed and devastated. Though I don't think they would kill themselves.

            "Are all your questions answered?" Madame Leota asked me.

            "I guess." I said.

            "You have another question. One you fear the answer to."

            I gulped. She was right on the money. 

            "Don't give me the answer to that." I said.

            I changed the subject. "Why are there 999 ghosts here?"

            "Spirits from the graveyard, from long ago, manifested inside these walls."          

            "Um, okay. Thanks." I mumbled.

            "Be on guard tonight, Kimberly Fox." The head of Madame Leota said, before she faded away 

            "Wait! What does that mean?" I asked, but it was too late. She was gone. Then, I remembered something I heard Edward Gracey saying yesterday. 

            _Tomorrow night must go right. It must_.

            Katherine Gracey died on Mardi Gras…tonight is Mardi Gras! Oh my God. I was trembling with fear. 

            I can think of a million things that could possibly happen to me, and I don't see myself surviving any of them. 

End Notes: Sorry this is late! I intended to update this yesterday, but I had to log off earlier than I expected last night.  

So…it's a doozie! You get two chapters today! You know, in the original draft of this story, Kimberly says "Oh my God" 18 times within the first half of it alone. 


	10. Chapter Ten: Kim's Strange Encounters

When You Hear the Knell of a Requiem Bell by Flashbeagle

Chapter Ten

In this chapter: Kimberly gets startled by the attic bride, gets stuck at a macabre Mardi Gras ball, finds herself in a room with no doors and four paintings that do something very odd, and gets corned by 999 grim, grinning ghosts…

            After my encounter with Madame Leota, I was even more unnerved than before, which is pretty hard to imagine, because I felt more on the edge than ever before after this morning. 

            I spent most of the day alone, in the attic, worrying about what might happen to me. Something inside of me wouldn't let me leave. Every time I tried to open the doors up front, they wouldn't open, or my hand wouldn't be able to open it. When I tried to leave through the library chute, the book wouldn't come down!

            I fell asleep in the attic, and I must have been out for a good couple of hours, because when I woke up, it was pitch black inside. 

            I slowly got up, and yawned. That was when I heard it. A heartbeat. It wasn't my own…it barely sounded real. The thumping got louder, and louder, and I could hear it right behind me.

            Someone, or something, was right behind me.

            I whirled around, and came face to face with a sad face with green eyes filled with tears. A veil with a tiara is placed on her head, and the netting covers her long, curly blonde hair. She's in a very old fashioned bridal gown, and I can see a red heart glowing through her dress. The trunk was open.

            I screamed.

            "I won't hurt you." She promised. Her voice was very youthful, and her big eyes were filled with tears. My God…she must have been about sixteen when she died. 

            "I, I, I…"I stammered, and I ran out. 

            Nighttime had fallen quickly, it seemed. There was something very suspicious about the house tonight, more so than usual, and I just couldn't put my finger on it.

            I heard laughter coming from the general direction of the ballroom. I took a turn to the other side of the hallway but Edward Gracey suddenly materialized next to me.

            Shit.

            "My darling," he started.

            "Oh, no." I groaned, with my eyes widening in fear. I am so sick of being called 'darling'.

            "Katherine,"

            "Look Mr. Gra-er-Edward. I know what happened to Katherine, and I'm sorry, and I realize how weird it must be for you, and I know how crazy she was about you, but you've just gotta face the facts. I'm not Katherine. I'm Kimberly."

            He gave me a haunting smile and grabbed my hand.

            "Come, my love. It's time for the party."

            I let out a very audible gulp. "What party?" I asked, my voice unusually high pitched.

            "It's Mardi Gras."

            "Um, I know."

            "We can't be late," he said, and it's only then that I notice he's in full costume, his hair hidden by a wig, his eyes covered by a mask. He's dressed up exactly as he was in Madame Leota's vision.

            He tightened his grip on my wrist, and suddenly **_I'm_** in full costume too. I'm in a fancy, long ice blue dress, a matching mask is in my right hand, with my hair down and curly, and for some reason it seems darker and longer, lacking the highlights I paid a lot of money for. How is that possible? My eyes blurred and I could not think for a second. 

            Everything seems different now.

            A slightly astonished, adoring smile decorates my husband's face. "I have never seen you look more beautiful." He murmurs to me, with his eyes gleaming. "Are you ready to go now, Katherine?"

 Slowly, I put on the mask. I lean onto Edward's arm and say, "I'm ready."

            I hold onto his arm as we enter the ballroom, where happy, masked couples are dancing, and an organ is playing.

            "Everything will change after tonight." Edward whispers to me. "We'll be together. I promise."

            "Alright." I agree, as we begin to dance. I feel so safe…

            I can't stand this. I can't deal with this. This has got to STOP! It's like having multiple personalities or something!

            "Katherine, you look troubled."

            "I'm NOT Katherine." I insisted.

            "You are. You are remembering, but it's taking time. Just wait…"

            "I don't want to!" I shouted, pushing his arms away from me. I wanted to run away but I couldn't. It was like my feet were cemented to the ground.

            "You do not want to leave." Edward smiled. "You want to stay here with me."

            Couldn't be further from the truth. "No, I don't. I want to go back to San Antonio! I never want to see you again."

            "It is our destiny to be together, Katherine. Do not fear destiny, my love. It is inevitable."

            "No, no it's not!"

            "Do not be afraid."

            I was pissed by then. I could feel my eyes glaring with anger as I ripped off the stupid mask. "Hmm, it's a little late for that! I've only been scared of you, since, what, the moment I met you!"

            "You are confused, my love. And that is perfectly alright! I understand! But you have no reason to fear me. I love you as you have never been loved before!"

            I backed off a little bit and tried to figure out how to convince him that I'm not his wife. This is going to require some really quick thinking…

            But then it happened again.

            I'm young here, and I'm with my parents, Mark and Eugenia Frees. We have just arrived at Gracey Manor, and Ramsley has just ushered us into the banquet hall, where a tall, dark, and very handsome man sits alone at a table, wearing a dark blue jacket over a plain blue shirt. I'm transfixed, while my parents shake hands with him. When he gets to me, I throw my hand at him and breathlessly say, "I'm Katherine." And then I think…

            "No! I'm Kimberly!" I shouted. He moved towards me, but this time I ran. 

            This sucks. Everyone in the ballroom was trying to keep me from leaving. They kept grabbing at me, and did I mention how hard it is to make an escape when you're in an 1880s party dress?

            Crap. This sucks. **It sucks!**

            Once I got out of the ballroom, I was relieved to see that no one had followed me. I was dashing through one of the portrait halls, when I noticed something really, really weird. The pictures…they were…

            CHANGING!

            One, labeled 'Juliet Gracey', featured a beautiful brunette in a pink dress changing into an ugly, wilting old hag. Another, the one I thought looked like Napoleon on a horse, had the picture's figures changing into skeletons. A portrait of a girl with golden brown hair changed into that of Medusa. The last one, labeled 'Captain Gracey's Ship', featured a large boat changing into that of a ghost ship upon a furious black ocean.

            Sort of looks like the one in Pirates of the Caribbean…boy, did that movie ever rock! Capt. Jack Sparrow was so freaking awesome and…I can't believe I'm thinking about Johnny Depp at a time like this! 

            I continued running, and I found myself in the room with the other four paintings. As I stared at them, the door disappeared! I'm serious! I turned my head for one second and it was gone. All of a sudden, the floor started to fall down! I'm serious, the room was sinking! And as it sank, the pictures stretched out.

            The one of the girl holding the umbrella stretched out to reveal her on a falling tightrope, with an alligator waiting to eat her! The one of the smiling man stretched to reveal that he was sitting on top of two other men, in a pile of quicksand! The one of the frowning man revealed that he was standing on top of a pile of lit dynamite. The one of the older woman showed that she was sitting on top of a grave, with a bust in front of it…which had an axe sticking out of the head!

            All of a sudden, the candles in the room blew out. The room was pitch black, except for a single spot of light at the top. The light drew back to illuminate something hanging from the top.

            Oh my God. It's a skeleton! A skeleton is dangling from a noose!

            The one light flickered off, and I could feel my heart slamming against my rib cage so hard that it hurt. 

            I heard what sounded like a door opening. Suddenly, in a flash of light, I was in the foyer again. As I was about to run up the stairs to get my stuff out of the attic, I noticed something very, very disturbing going on with the portrait of Edward Gracey. 

            One second it showed him pretty much as I knew him. The next, middle aged, then as an old man, and finally it showed him as skeleton…the same one I saw in the room with no doors!

            "This is way too weird." I said out loud as I retreated back to the attic.

            Before I could even pick my stuff up, the ghost of Emily Gracey confronted me.

            "Don't be scared. I won't hurt you."

            "Okay, so _you_ won't hurt me. But I think your son-in-law wants to kill me so, yeah, bye!"

            I grabbed my stuff and ran like hell down the stairs. **Right** when I was about to open the door and finally leave, two zombies, appeared and blocked me, each grabbing onto one of my arms.

            "Where do you think YOU'RE going?" One of them sneered at me.

            "Away." I muttered. Okay, I'm pissed now.

            "No you're not." The other laughed.

            "Don't you get it, _mademoiselle_? Another ghost with a French accent said, emerging from the portrait hallway. Oh my God. It's the woman from the painting, Juliet Gracey! She keeps going back and forth from young woman to scary old witch-hag.

"You're the missing link, _cherie_."

            "Oh, I am not." I growled.

            "Let me ask you this," Another ghost said as he stepped next to Juliet Gracey. It was the man who had been standing on top of the dynamite. "Do you think it was all a _coincidence_ that YOU were the reporter selected to do this article? You, who has the same face, same voice, and _soul_ as the late Katherine Gracey?" He turned to Juliet.

            "Lovely to see you, Mother."

            "Oh, George!" she laughed.

            "Um, yeah. I do believe it's all a coincidence. Now if you'll just excuse me-"

            I turned around to face two very pale children. I screamed. 

            "Where are you going?" the girl asked me.

            "Oh, no. Not again." I groaned.

            "Father? Why won't she accept her fate?" the boy asked. "Tell her she needs to stay."

            "Thomas, son, we're trying. Edward has tried repeatedly. Even Mr. Ramsley has tried. She won't listen." George Gracey said.

            "Hey, look, I've listened. I've just chosen to blow you all off, that's all."

            As I tried to push past them, I saw ghosts appear everywhere. I mean, _everywhere._ Everywhere I look, there's a ghost. 

            Oh my God. There really are 999 ghosts here!

            Ok, I'm not just scared now.

            I'm **_terrified_**

End Notes: Here's another fun Kimberly fact. The character's name was originally Christine, but I changed it because I feel that Kimberly fits the character better.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Kim's Ghostly Predicamen...

When You Hear the Knell of a Requiem Bell by Flashbeagle

Chapter Eleven

In this chapter: Kim fights off zombies, deals with pesky ghosts, and quotes a children's action/adventure show from 2001.

            Something weird happened. Suddenly, I wasn't in that party dress anymore. I'm back in my faded pink t-shirt and dusty old blue jeans.

            Ok, good. It's creepy, but at least I feel more like myself now.

            I'm currently surrounded by nearly 999 dead people, all of them sadistic, pale-faced, and smiling.

            They truly are Grim, Grinning Ghosts in every sense of the phrase.

            Ok, Fox, remember what Grandpa always says, "It's hard to outsmart a Fox." But how do you trick a ghost? I guess I'll just have to take my chances.

            "Hey, look, um it's Captain Jack Sparrow!" I shouted. They all turned, and I bolted. I was so lucky they did that…being that Capt. Jack Sparrow doesn't even exist.

            I proved my stupidity again, though. Instead of just leaving, I headed up the stairs and ran to the library. Thankfully, the chute worked this time, and I was just so happy to be out of the Manor it didn't even bother me that I was in a crypt. 

            Until, of course, I left the crypt and saw how even more formerly mortals were carousing, laughing, and –get this- driving a ghostly carriage. The busts were singing again, and the ghouls up in the trees were laughing at me. 

            "There are 999 of us happy haunts here." One of them cackled.

            Yes. I'm aware of that scarily disturbing fact.

            "With room for one more." Another bellowed.

            "Any takers?" the first one asked me.

            "No." I muttered.

            "Oh! But we want you to stay!" A skeleton laughed as he popped out of the ground.

            "Yes, please stay!" the busts sang.

            "No freaking way." I retaliated. Okay, I'm **_beyond_** pissed now.

            Suddenly, a lot of skeletons grabbed me from behind.

            "You're staying here whether you like it or not." One of them laughed.

            "We won't rest until we have #1000." Another said.

            That was when I started to fight. I kicked back and knocked them away.

            Alright! My hands are free.

            And then…I fought them.

            Now, okay, I know next to nothing, okay, I know NOTHING about martial arts, and I can't even fathom how ridiculous I must look, but hey, it's keeping them away from me. I punched, I kicked, I elbowed, I scratched, and I broke off sections of bone. It was kind of fun, in an I'm-scared-for-my-life-and-really-pissed-off way. All I knew was that I had to fight, attack, and battle if I wanted to stay alive, and that was incentive enough for me.

            But they just kept coming! More ghouls, goblins, and other scary things kept attacking me, so I had to keep fighting, and soon I was really tired.

            I made the mistake of running back into the Manor, where an equally large army of the damned was waiting for me, headed by Juliet, George, Thomas, and Angelina Gracey. 

            "Hello again, _mademoiselle_." Juliet grinned. "It's time for you to go back."

            "Over my dead body!" I spat.

            They all exchanged an amused look before laughing at me.

            "If you don't get out of my way…"I started.

            "You're needed here. Don't leave us." Angelina said.

            "Trust me, the feeling is **not** returned." I grimaced.

            "It won't be complete without you, dear." Juliet grinned.

            "What won't be complete?" I demanded.

            "The Manor! No Manor is complete without a mistress."

            Oh, here we go with that mistress crap again.

            "Look, I am NOT your stupid mistress, nor am I her reincarnation or anything else to her. Yeah, I look just like her, but that's not my problem! So get out of my way, lay off me and LET ME GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" I screamed.

            They all laughed at me.

            I clenched my fists and tried to storm off, but they all caught me. I tried to fight them, but they dragged me to a part of a hall I'd never seen before. At the end of it was a giant mirror.

            "Look into it, and tell us what you see." George Gracey said.

            So I did.

            But what I saw wasn't me, Kim Fox. It was a reflection of Katherine Gracey in the now infamous blue dress, looking exactly as I had not too long ago before I got put back into my normal clothes.

            "Nice try." I said sarcastically. "I don't care what you try to get me to think, I'm leaving and never coming back, and oh yeah, I AM NOT KATHERINE GRACEY!"

            Then I looked down at myself and saw that I was all decked out in that stupid dress again. How does that keep happening? How is that even possible?

            "Okay, I know it looks bad and all, but…"

            "Can't you see? Can't you see that your destiny is right in front of you? Can't you accept it?" George said.

            "We all make our own destiny." I said. Great line, huh? I got it from Power Rangers Time Force. Pretty damn good show for a kids action/adventure. "And this will NOT be part of mine."

            "Mistress Gracey, don't be so negative." A voice from behind me said.

            "Blaah!" I screamed, turning around to face Ramsley. "And for the nine millionth time, I'm not Katherine. I'm Kim. Just call me Miss Fox, okay?"

            He looked down at me coldly. "Master Gracey has told me to tell you that he needs to see you immediately."

            "And I told _Master Gracey_," I said, mocking Ramsley, "That I never wanted to see him ever again."

            "Mistress Gracey, I cannot believe how incredibly difficult you are being." Ramsley said. "You were never like this before."

            "Maybe it's because I'm Kimberly Fox, not Katherine Gracey. Did you ever stop to consider that?" I shouted.

            Ramsley sighed. "I know this may seem overwhelming and unbelievable to you, as you're looking at this through a 21st century mindset, but like Old Master George said, this is fate. You cannot change your fate."

            "I can and will." I said firmly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be go-"

            Someone grabbed my arm.

            "Katherine, my love. Finally." It was Edward Gracey. He nodded over to his family. "Thank you so much for finding her." I noticed that he had taken off his wig and his mask. 

            "Let me go!" I growled.

            He looked at me blankly. "I know you are afraid of me, Katherine, but you should not be. I adore you! I am no different than I was before."

            "Except dead." I added. "And you're trying to kill me." 

            He shook his head. "That sounds so harsh, darling."

            "But it's the truth!" I countered.

            He paused, and just lifted his hand to my face, caressing my cheek. I should have fought him, but I didn't.

            "Darling, I need you here with me. The only way that can happen is if you pass on to the next life, here, tonight, while I am here to retrieve your soul. I swear to you, you'll never feel any pain. I would never let anything hurt you. I will protect you, and then we will be together forever. Finally. I love you."

            I feel like I have to throw up, but at the same time, I feel kind of emotionless. I'm just staring ahead like a doll. He kissed my forehead, but I had no strength to fight him on it.

            "Please leave me alone." I said quietly. "I don't want to stay here forever. I want to live."

            "I know. It sounds awful, but I promise you, you will be happy." He whispered in my ear.

            Everything swam before my eyes. For a second, I forgot who I am, and everything about me. What's my name? What's my birthday? What's my favorite TV show? I was coming up with blanks.

            Then, I spied my backpack on the ground, and got a great idea. Slowly, I pushed Edward away from me, and then ran like hell, grabbed my backpack, and pulled out my cell phone.

            I noticed the "You have 7 missed calls" screen, but I ignored it and dialed Ben's number.

            "Hello?"

            "Ben, it's Kim."

            "Kim! Oh my God, Kim, where ARE you? I've been calling and calling you and I'm really worried. Are you okay?"

            "Not really. Ben, I need a favor…"

A fact about this story: The version I'm uploading to fanfiction.net is the story's 4th draft. I like to say that Kim is what happens when you give the damsel in distress the comic relief's personality and mind set. (For the next story, though, Kim is nowhere near the damsel in distress situation.)

And about the character originally being named Christine: The character's original last name was Dalton. (Get it? CD? I have listened to the Original London Cast CD one too many times…) I wrote a small story about Kim (back when she was still Christine), but it didn't show the character's personality. It was more of a descriptive one-shot story created in order to utilize my SAT words. It will probably be uploaded as a bonus chapter sometime in between the completion of this story, and the uploading of the Kimster's next adventure, A Phantom Awaits You, which takes place at Phantom Manor.


	12. Chapter Twelve: Kimberly and Emily

When You Hear the Knell of a Requiem Bell by Flashbeagle

Chapter Twelve

In this chapter: Kim gets help from the Attic Bride and finds herself….well, you'll find out!

            "What is it, Kim?"

            "Look, Ben, I'll be honest." I started, casting a look behind me, seeing that the grim, grinning army was closing in close behind me.

            Uh oh.

            "I'm being chased by an army of the dead who think I'm the reincarnation of their mistress and their master is trying to kill me and I keep forgetting who I am!" I blurted out at max speed. "And I'm not making any of this up, I swear, and I'm not crazy and you have to come to Gracey Manor and save me or else I'm gonna die, and Ben, I don't want to! I don't want to spend eternity here! I want to go to Tokyo Disneyland!"

            "Whoa, Kim. Don't worry. I'm gonna leave the restaurant right now, and I'll be there ASAP."

            "Do you know how to get here?" I panted.

            "Yeah, I'll figure it out." Ben said soothingly.

            "Ben, you **have** to hurry."

            "I will. Don't worry." Ben said. "You'll be okay, Kim."

            "Ben**, hurry**." I insisted, turning around to face everyone as I hung up. 

            "Um…"I said, before I turned and ran.

            Must. Get. Out. Of. Here.

            Must.Not.Die

            Must.Not.Let.Ghosts.Win

            _Come on, Fox_. I told myself. _You can do this. You can do this!_

            I thought about high school basketball, when our coaches used to call me "Foxy Baby." Whenever I'd be losing heart, or struggling, they'd shout out,

            "C'mon Foxy Baby! You can do it, Kim!" and that would always make me play harder and fight back.

            Hmm…what would Kim "Foxy Baby" Fox, #3, starting varsity shooting guard, do in a situation like this? It felt so odd to think that…like I was never a member of the St. Joan of Arc High School Lady Crusaders Varsity Basketball team, two time state champions. em.

            But I mean, I couldn't even remember my own name not even ten minutes ago. It doesn't help that I haven't done anything remotely athletic since then.

            Enemy forces surrounding me. Time's running out. I've got the ball. (Well, not really.)

            Starting varsity shooting guard Kimberly would've put the ball on the floor, put up a shot at the three point line, and tried to have drawn a foul.

            Dressed up like a dead girl Kimberly is going to have to do something a _little _different. 

            They're all closing in on me. They think they've trapped me. They're all smiling.

            _It's hard to outsmart a Fox. Be quick like the Fox. Come on, Foxy Baby. You can do it, Kim_. Those thoughts swum through my head as I started running to one side, jerked my body to the same side, and in a flash, I switched directions and sprinted like hell.

            They all fell for it. One of the oldest tricks in the (basketball) book, actually. Although this was much easier to do when I was in my old shiny uniform and comfy old Nikes. I kept hoping that suddenly I'd be back in my normal clothes, since it's really hard to run in this stupid dress, but of course, it didn't happen. 

            They kept coming after me, their ghostly voices echoing in my head.

            But I'm not going to let them scare me this time.

            I raced up to the attic.

            "Are you alright?" Emily asked me, the moment I walked in.

            "No, not really." I said, shaking my head, and sitting down on a truck.

            "What's wrong?" She asked me, moving closer.

            I stood up and moved back towards the door. I mean, well, what would you do if some dead girl in a wedding dress, with her heart glowing through her dress, was trying to talk to you while you were in a state of horrified terror?

            "Please don't be scared." Emily said.

            "Look, okay, it's really not your fault. I mean, okay. What's going on is that…"

            And then I started from the beginning, recounting everything…from the first time I felt woozy upon entering the Manor to just a few minutes ago. I just sort of blurted everything out at max speed. It felt so good to finally talk to someone who listened to me when I insisted that I'm not Katherine's reincarnation.

            "And then I called my best friend Ben on my cell phone and asked him to come here and help me out but I don't know if I'm still going to be alive by that time!"  I finished, near tears. 

            "I know. And I'm sorry." Emily said, smiling sadly. 

            "And all I want to do is just go home and lock myself in my room and never ever come back to this stupid place again!"

            "I understand." Emily said kindly. "It's awful here. Most of the 999 are quite happy, actually. But those of us who feel sorrow are completely miserable. You would be miserable too."

            "You got that right."

            "I'll do everything I can to help you." Emily stated suddenly. "You are such a kind person."

I am? That's a pretty generous thing to say considering I've run away in terror every other time I've seen her. 

            "Thank you so much." I said. "I'm going to go wait for Ben downstairs. Do you want to come with me?"

            Emily nodded. "I will. I'll wait with you."

            As we were walking down the stairs, I accidentally skipped a few stairs and fell down.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Emily asked.

"Whew, um, I'm fine!" I said assertively. I stood up again, but I tripped over my very long dress. I tumbled down the stairs, and I hit my head HARD, and fell into blackness…

            "Oh…"I moaned as I opened my eyes. 

            "Katherine? Dear, are you alright?" It's Edward, and he's holding me in his arms.

            "Um, I don't know."

            "You gave me quite a scare."

            "I did?"

            "Yes," he whispers, brushing some hair off my face.

            "My love." I slightly tremble as I wrap my arms around his neck. "Oh Edward," I say as my head falls on his chest. "I'm so confused."

            He pulls me closer. "It is alright. But we must go back to the party." Edward says, rising to his feet, but still holding on to my hand protectively.

            I stand up slowly, still clinging to his hand. I lean my head on his shoulder.

            He looks down at me and smiles.

            Ramsley, dressed for the party, and escorting a portly woman with gray hair, passes us by, and he grins.

            "You've come to your senses, I see, Mistress Gracey."

            Although I do not know what he's talking about, I nod.

            He smiles and says, "You always were the loveliest couple."

            I beam with pride. I feel slightly ill, but I also feel joyous. My true love and I are finally together again.

            Everyone in the ballroom is dancing, and they all look so happy. An organ plays a slow, but joyous song, and laughter fills the air.

            "You finally made it, darling. You're here." Edward whispers in my ear.

            "At last." I murmur.

End Notes: I love cliffhangers, don't you? J Will Kim remember who she is? What happened to Emily? Will Ben make it to there in time to help Kim before she becomes the 100th ghost of Gracey Manor? To all my readers; I am so glad you are enjoying this! I feel that this is one of my best works, quite frankly, and it makes me feel good to know that people are enjoying it too. 

  
To my Power Rangers friends: Do you get the name connection between Kim and another character in the story? Believe it or not, that was unintentional! 


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Kim, uh, isn't Kim

When You Hear the Knell of a Requiem Bell

Chapter Thirteen

            I'm very confused. I still have no idea what is going on here. I almost feel like a child.

            Edward is holding me very close as we dance.

            "Katherine?" he says.

            "Yes?"

            "It feels so good to have you back. I missed you so much."

            "I missed you too."

            "The moment I saw you again…"He said very softly. "I can't describe it. It was like my heart soared. I knew it was you. I knew you had returned for good."

            "I wish I remembered." I murmured. But I almost did. I saw myself, strangely dressed, spectacles on my nose, carrying a book, looking at Ramsley in an odd way. I also saw myself, still dressed oddly, being kissed by Edward, but pushing him away, glaring at him with a cross between fury and fear in my eyes.

            "Are you angry with me?" I ask him meekly. 

            "No, my love, of course not. Remember? I could never be mad at you." He smiles. "I realize it must have been odd for you, but all that matters is that you're here now." He gazed at me a moment. "You're so beautiful, my dearest."

            Different visions of myself were coming to me, ones showed me laughing with a young man I knew well, others showed me at a younger age, shooting an orange ball into the air. I could see myself coquettishly talking to some handsome young men at a shop. I don't understand this. None of that ever happened to me, Katherine Gracey. None of it, as far as I know, has ever even happened. So why am I remembering it? 

            I blinked and stared up into Edward's dark blue eyes that I know so well.

            "If I could have, I would've just done this the night you came here, but I knew I had to give you time, and I wanted to make it special for you."

            "What?" I ask.

            "You know." He said softly, and then, I could hear my own voice say very harshly, 

_And that you're trying to kill me._

            Then, I could hear Edward's voice saying,

            _The only way that can happen is if you pass on to the next life, here, tonight, while I'm here to retrieve your soul… I promise you, you will be happy_

            "I remember now."

            "I know that tonight, in the past, was a horrible night for the both of us, but I want to change that for you, Katherine. I never want you to ever feel sadness ever again."

            I stare up into his eyes, which are so deep and so loving. I put my hands on his face, slowly outlining his profile with my fingers.  

            "I love you." I say plainly.

            "And I love you." He responds, and leans over and kisses me intensely. After I break the embrace, I keep seeing a picture of myself in my head, one of the ones from earlier, where Edward is kissing me, and I angrily push him away, venomously saying,

_If you're going to try to seduce me, at least get my name riii…you just called me Katherine, didn't you?_

Why would I be surprised that he called me Katherine? It is my name.

            I think.

            "Edward?"

            "What is it, darling?"

            "We're never going to be able to go to Paris, are we?" I ask sadly. 

            "Oh, Katherine, I'm sorry. I know how much you want to go."

            "It's alright. All that matters is that I'm with you." I say as I rest my head on his chest again.  

            He runs a hand through my hair. "Yes, my love. And we shall never part again. You need not worry. This is our destiny, and it will finally come to be. I love you so much. You mean everything to me." He held me even tighter.

            "Was I cold to you? When I got here? I can't remember." 

            "Sort of." Edward says. "But you were afraid. You were confused. I know you so well."

            I felt his lips press against my cheek.

            I feel very strange, as if I'm about to faint. I could hear what sounded like a church bell ringing, the sound resonating throughout the house. 

            "I think it's time now, Katherine." He whispers to me. "Are you ready?"

            "Yes." I say.

            Suddenly, a figure dashes into the ballroom.

            "KIMBERLY!" He yells.

            Is he talking to me? The name Kimberly seems familiar.

            I recognize this young man. I know him. 

            He has tanned skin, black hair, and hazel eyes. He looks frightened, and there are a lot of gold, green, and purple beads around his neck. Next to him is a strangely pale, blonde haired girl in a wedding gown, a red heart beating through her dress. It's the ghost of Emily Westin Gracey! The bride who haunts the attic!

            "You bastard!" He yells at Edward. "Stay away from her!"

Oh my. I remember now. Everything's coming back to me. For a second, everything turned black. And when the darkness cleared, I was back.

            "Ben!"

End Notes: So, Kim's back to herself now! How will things get wrapped up?


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Kim Makes It Out

When You Hear the Knell of a Requiem Bell by Flashbeagle

Chapter Fourteen

            Ben punched Edward HARD. But of course, being that Edward Gracey is a ghost, that didn't do much good. Ben turned to me.

            "Kim! Oh my God. You're a walking anachronism! Are you okay?"

            "Ben!" I shouted, thrusting myself into my buddy's arms. I have never been happier to see him before in my life. Well, in my life as Kimberly Fox if this reincarnation of Katherine Gracey thing is for real…which after tonight I wouldn't doubt. 

            "Kim, um, why are you dressed like that?" 

            "It just keeps happening to me! And I just totally lost my memory and I kept thinking that I was Katherine Gracey, and I mean, I seriously thought I was her! I really doubted this before, but now it's all weird, and I think I really might be her reincarnation!" I blurted out to him.

            I noticed Edward trying to get to me, but Ben pushed him away.

            "Oh no, you don't. Stay away from Kim." He growled. "Kim, you don't really believe that, do you?" 

            "I don't know. But all these people are ghosts and they told me that they wanted me to die and be the thousandth ghost and I seriously thought I was her. I was acting like it. I didn't know what my name was and I kept having these flashbacks where everything changed and just before you got here, I was going to die and have my soul be here forever and before that, no one listened to me when I told them that I was Kimberly Fox and…"

            "Calm down, Fox. It's alright now. Your incorporeal friend Emily told me everything. She helped me find you."

            I turned to Emily. "What happened after I blacked out? Where were you?"

            She hung her head. "I saw Edward coming, and I got scared. I didn't want to get caught, so I dissolved away. I felt so guilty. I was on my way to the ball when I heard Ben coming in, so then I went to go help him."

            "It's okay." I said. "I understand the whole not wanting to get caught part."

            "Katherine, darling, what is going on?" Edward asked me.

            "This is my best friend, Ben." I said slowly. _And I just want to know who I really am, for once._

            I looked at Edward, and suddenly, I really felt like Katherine Gracey again. I felt like running to him, resting my head on his chest, and running my hands over his face. But then I blinked, and I looked at Ben. Suddenly, everything was clear to me.

            "I'm Kimberly Fox." I said decidedly, and the good thing was that I knew it 100% this time. My mind wasn't clouded by memories of Katherine Gracey's life, or doubts to my own identity. I don't know why I said it. It's like it just came out of me. 

            I faced Edward. Ben was still holding onto my hand, which was slightly trembling since I had just been traumatized.

            "I wish I knew how to explain what happened." I said, really unsure of what to say. What was I supposed to say? "Gee, um, sorry I kept having some of your dead wife's memories and I kept thinking I was her, but um, I'm not so, screw you, bye?" Of course not! And it's not like he's been mean to me. When you think about it, he's been really nice to me…I mean, the whole trying to kill me thing was clearly out of misguided, long suppressed love for his wife, which is kind of cute in a demented gruesome macabre kind of way. 

"But all I can say, I guess, is that I'll never be able to explain what happened." I continued. "I really did feel like I was her for a little while back there, and I guess, um, all I can say is that um, when I uh, thought I was Katherine, I really felt…"

God, this is hard. He looks so sad.

            "Like I loved you." That was not easy to say. Not easy at all. But it was the truth, I mean, when I thought I was Katherine, I really did feel like her. I felt all of her emotions, thought the way she would've...ugh, this is too weird for me to even want to think about any more.

            He brightened up slightly, ever so slightly, as he looked sort of like he wanted to cry, and approached me. Ben let go of my hand.

            "Darling, "he started, lifting a hand to my face. "It's all right." He stared into my eyes. That old feeling of "God, this guy creeps me out" started up again, not to mention some severe nausea, but I ignored them. He ran his hand across my face, and kissed me.

            It was like all the lights went out, and I was in total darkness again.

            When I opened my eyes, I was back in that other room I had woken up in. Ben was on the floor, covered by blankets. I looked down at myself, and saw I was back in my pink t-shirt and dusty blue jeans.

            The first thing I did was jab a few fingers at the bottom of my throat. When I felt my heart beat, I was ecstatic.

            I have never been so happy to be alive before. I got off the bed, and saw that my backpack, purse, and all of my other stuff were perfectly perched on top of a table. I grabbed everything, laid it out on the bed, and went through it.

            There was a loose paper with my name at the top of it.

_Dear Kimberly,_

_            I am horrible at writing letters, but I just wanted to let you know that I was able to speak with Master Gracey after last night. I told him how you were feeling, and he understood. I still need to apologize for dissolving last night. I shouldn't have gotten so scared. You are very lucky to have a friend like Ben. He cares about you very much, almost as if you're his sister. I hope you can put this awful experience behind you and have a happy life. _

_Sincerely,_

_Emily Lillian Westin_

            You know, if she wasn't dead, Emily would remind me of my friend Tracy. It's interesting how she signed her name "Emily Westin" and not "Emily Gracey", but since she was murdered on her wedding night, I guess she never got used to being called by that name.

            Sheesh. Murdered on her wedding night. You can't get any more depressing than _that_.

            I silently crept out of the room and slunk into Madame Leota's chambers.

            "What would you like to know, Miss Fox?"

            "Um, Madame Leota, am I…am I…right to um, leave this place? I mean, I just sort of feel like a total bitch breaking Edward Gracey's heart and all."

            "Miss Fox, do you have a family?"

            "Yeah."

            "And friends."

  
            "Yeah."

            "And a career?"

            "Yeah." 

            "And a DVD player with Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl in it?"

            I admit that I grinned.

            "Could you honestly leave that behind?"

            "No."

            Madame Leota smiled at me. "Good luck with your article."

            "Huh?" I blinked.

            "Hurry back, Miss Fox. Be sure to bring your death certificate!"

            I paled. "WHAT?"

            "It's just something I like to say." Madame Leota laughed. "Goodbye Miss Fox."

            "Eh, uh, bye."

            After I left Madame Leota's chamber, I ran into Edward.

            "Hello." He said.

            "Hi." I said.

            There was a sort of awkward moment.

            "I'm sorry." I said.

            "You have nothing to be sorry about. I owe you an apology, darling. I should never have tried to keep you here. I was so blinded by what I wanted. I led myself into thinking that was what you would want too. I should have listened to you." He looked deep into my eyes.

            "I still believe you are Katherine's reincarnation, but I never bothered to think that perhaps by being reborn, your destiny may have changed. I still want you here with me, but I love you. I want you to be happy. I want what is best for you. I could never take you away from the people who love you, and I cannot believe how close I came to doing so."

            Oh, man, I feel guilty. Poor guy.

            Wait a sec. Why am I the one feeling guilty? **_I_** never tried to kill anyone!

            "Are you going to be okay?" I asked. Thank God he's already dead, because if he was alive I'd totally be worried about him hurting himself.

            "I will be fine, my love."

            "Are you going to um, pass on?"

            "Pardon me?"

            "Pass on, to the um, next, um life or to heaven or purgatory or reincarnation?"

            Edward laughed. "I may miss you tremendously, but I rather like being a ghost. The ghosts here are quite convivial. It is really not a bad existence. It can be quite amusing at times." He smiled at me.

            Suddenly I was reminded of why I disliked him in the first place.

            "Um, that's good. I have to um, go now."

            He grabbed my hand and kissed it. He also handed me a rose that had been on a nearby table.

            "Goodbye, my darling. If you ever feel lonely, or if you ever just need a place to go, you are always welcome here. You are, even if it was in a past life, this house's mistress." Edward gave my hand a squeeze and looked at me longingly.

            A million different emotions rushed through me. They were all variations of fear, guilt, and apprehension.

            "I'll remember that." I said slowly. "Goodbye, Edward." I turned to go into the room I had woken up in. When I turned back, he was gone.

            Oh man, this just couldn't get any weirder if it tried…

 I crept back to the room, put all of my stuff away, and woke up Ben 

            "Hey. We're alive." I said.

            Ben yawned. "So we are. Kim. I'm really glad you're alive."

            "So am I."

            "Are you gonna go home?"

            "Yup."

            "Are you gonna catch a flight?" 

            "Yeah."

            "Eh, I have to stay here. Still have some research to do on those stupid overpriced hotels." Ben grumbled.

            "You wanna know something?" I asked mischievously, trying to take my mind off this whole disaster.

            "What?"

            "I'm really, really hungry."

            Ben rolled his eyes.

            "Kim, you're so…**_you_**." Ben laughed.

            I smiled, although the whole "you're so you" remark slightly made me sad. Was I just me, Kim Fox? Or was I the reincarnation of Katherine Gracey as well? Last night was…well, it was weird. All the details of what happened were really fuzzy in my mind, and I felt strangely weak. 

            When we were leaving, we bumped into the butler, and guess what? I couldn't remember his name.

            "Um, goodbye, um, er, Ripley?" I offered.

            "Ramsley. Goodbye, Miss Fox." He said, smiling sadly. Damn it, why do I feel so guilty?

            Ben was staring at him.

            "Kim? Is he dead too?"

            "Yeah." I nodded.

            Ben shook his head.

            "Weird." 

            "You think he's weird, you should've seen the singing busts in the graveyard."

            As we were leaving, we could hear the singing busts from the front yard. Ben insisted on going back to see them, despite my protesting. We were able to catch the tail end of a song.

**_If you would like to join our jamboree_**

**_There's a simple rule that's compulsory_**

**_Mortals pay a token fee_**

**_Rest in peace; the haunting's free_**

**_So hurry back!_**

**_We would like your company!_**

            I looked at the bust that looked sort of like Walt Disney, though Ben insisted it looked more like the guy who sang "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch", and said,

            "Not on your life."

End Notes: That may be the end of the story, but it's by no means the end of the fic! We've still got special features coming up! There's an exclusive interview with Kimberly, the descriptive story starring Christine, the early version of Kim's character, an alternate character focus starring Ramsley the butler, and an exclusive behind the scenes documentary on the making of this story! Well, okay, maybe not the last one…

Plus, there's also Kim's upcoming adventure, A Phantom Awaits You, which takes place at Phantom Manor! For fans of comedy, there's plenty of that. For fans of adventure and thrills, there's plenty of that. For fans of doomed romances, there's plenty of that, though this time Kim's not a factor in that, plus many lovable new Disney characters destined to become family favorites! 


	15. BONUS! An Interview with Kimberly Fox

When You Hear the Knell of a Requiem Bell by Flashbeagle

Bonus Features

**An Interview With Kimberly Fox**

Flashbeagle: Hi, I'm Flashbeagle, author of When You Hear the Knell of a Requiem Bell. Today I'm here with the story's plucky heroine, Kimberly Fox, to do an exclusive interview. Ladies and gentlemen, Ms. Kimberly Elizabeth Fox!

Kimberly: Hi!

Flashbeagle: So, Kim, when and where were you born?

Kimberly: April 3, 1979 in San Antonio. I turned 25 a few weeks ago.

Flashbeagle: Did you get anything good for your birthday?

Kimberly: Yeah! Tons of DVDs, tons of gift certificates, tons of CDs! My family loves me, what can I say? :::laughs:::

Flashbeagle: Have you had any interesting new assignments?

Kimberly: Um, not really. My editor keeps trying to get me to do this thing on this haunted place called Ravenswood Manor, but I'm trying to avoid ever going to another haunted place.

Flashbeagle: Totally understandable. Have you had any flashbacks since you left Gracey Manor?

Kimberly: Thankfully no. Do we have to talk about that? It was sort of a traumatic experience! You know, being mistaken for a dead woman and nearly being killed and all.

Flashbeagle: Okay, okay. Are you and Ben really just friends?

Kimberly: Yes. 

Flashbeagle: But you said he was hot!

Kimberly: (Groans loudly) Ugh. Sure, he's tall, dark, handsome, smart, athletic, and speaks three languages, but you know, there's just no romantic connection. 

Flashbeagle: Okay, fine. So, what's your favorite TV show?

Kimberly:  Ooh! Yay! Fun topic! _I Love the 80s_, _I Love the 80s Strikes Back_, and _I Love the 70s_. My favorite episode was 1979. I think they should do I Love the 70s Strikes Back. Basically, I'm addicted to VH1. It's a lot more fun than MTV, I think. _Driven_ is a cool show. So is _Best Week Ever._ And I love _Saturday Night Live!_

Flashbeagle: Why was 'I love 79' your favorite episode?

Kimberly: Uh, duh, hello, born in 79 here! 

Flashbeagle: You're leaving something out.

Kimberly: I am? Oh my God! How could I have forgotten _Power Rangers Time Force_? I was sobbing during the season finale when Wes and Jen told each other that they loved each other! But personally, my favorite was Lucas…what a hottie!

Flashbeagle: Favorite movie?

Kimberly: Oh, there are a million of them! Right now Mulan is my favorite. Mulan's a really, really cool gal. And I also like Sleeping Beauty and Lady and the Tramp. But that always changes. And of course you know about my Pirates obsession…

Flashbeagle: You and many other females under the age of 30. And some above 30, I'm sure. If you had to choose, who would you choose, Capt. Jack Sparrow or Will Turner?

Kimberly: Jack Sparrow! Jack Sparrow!

Flashbeagle: What's your favorite Disney theme park ride?

Kimberly: It's A Small World After All. If you laugh, I will MURDER you!

Flashbeagle: ::snickers:::

Kimberly: SHUT UP!

Flashbeagle: Okay, okay. Favorite actor?

Kimberly: Johnny Depp

  
Flashbeagle: Favorite actress?

Kimberly: Renee Zellweger

Flashbeagle: Any romantic interests?

Kimberly: Not at the moment.

Flashbeagle: Anyone you think is cute? Like a celebrity?

Kimberly: Hmm…well, Johnny Depp…obviously. Brendan Fraser. Jim Caviezel. Heath Ledger. Hugh Jackman.

Flashbeagle: So will you ever go back to Gracey Manor?

Kimberly: That's a haunted place. What did I say about haunted places?

Flashbeagle: Okay. Um, so, how about that Ramsley? Didn't he have a funny accent?

Kimberly: You know, I never noticed. I was too busy being frightened for my life!

Flashbeagle: Were he not a ghost, would you have thought Edward Gracey was hot?

Kimberly: I don't know. He wasn't alive, now was he?

Flashbeagle:  Do you think that if she weren't a ghost, you and Emily Gracey would have been friends?

Kimberly: I don't know. She wasn't alive either!

Flashbeagle: Okay, do you think Emily and Katherine could have been friends?

Kimberly: Probably. If Emily had lived, cause I read in her diary that Katherine got freaked out by Emily's ghost.

Flashbeagle: What was your favorite part of Gracey Manor?

Kimberly: Um, those singing busts weren't bad…I guess. Can we please talk about something else?

Flashbeagle: That whole experience is kind of why we're having this interview!

Kimberly: Okay, fine.

  
Flashbeagle: So, Kim, if you could go back to your time at Gracey Manor and do one thing different, what would you do?

Kimberly: Not go there. Because see, if I never went there, my life would've never been in danger, and I wouldn't have gotten Edward Gracey's hopes up that his wife had finally returned to him forever so I wouldn't have had to feel so freaking guilty. 

Flashbeagle: Okay, but say you couldn't do that. Say the changes could only start from after you arrived at Gracey Manor.

Kimberly: I would've written the damn article faster and got on the first plane back to San Antonio!

Flashbeagle: Not the kind of answer I was looking for, but okay. So, do you think you're Katherine Gracey's reincarnation?

Kimberly: Aaah! I hate that question! I look at it this way: even if I was Katherine in a past life, it's a past life. It's over. I've got a new life now and I plan on living it to its fullest.

Flashbeagle: Sounds good.

Kimberly: I like to think so.

Flashbeagle: Kim, what's your favorite food?

Kimberly: Calamari.

Flashbeagle: And your favorite drink?

Kimberly: Bottled water

Flashbeagle: Get serious, Kim.

Kimberly: Beer. Are you happy? It's not like I drink it that much, anyway!

Flashbeagle: It's just that…you're funny when you're drunk.

Kimberly: I know that. 

Flashbeagle: Okay, next question. Which do you prefer: An British accent or an Australian accent?

Kimberly: Both

Flashbeagle: Can you speak any other languages?

Kimberly: I can stumble my way through Spanish and French. I'm much better at Spanish, though.

Flashbeagle: Where in the world would you most like to go?

Kimberly: Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland

Flashbeagle: If Disney opened a new theme park, where should it be?

Kimberly: San Antonio. Just kidding! Um, An Aussie Disneyland would be cool. Or Disneyland Africa! Or Disneyland Hawaii! Yeah, Disneyland Hawaii! They could do a total Lilo and Stitch theme!

Flashbeagle: What was the last DVD you bought?

Kimberly: Let me think…um…I believe it was Alice in Wonderland

Flashbeagle: The Disney version?

Kimberly:  No kidding.

Flashbeagle: I understand your brother David recently had exciting news.

Kimberly: Ugh. You just HAD to bring HIM up, didn't you?

Flashbeagle: I thought you'd be happy to talk about this. David and his wife Corinne are expecting their first child in the fall.

Kimberly: Oh, THAT news! :::laughs::: I am SO thrilled about being an aunt. I hope they have a girl!

Flashbeagle: Why a girl?

Kimberly: Well, I've got nothing against little boys, but you can't exactly buy them Disney princess dresses and Barbie dolls, can you?

Flashbeagle: Completely understandable. What would you like them to name their child?

Kimberly: Kimberly. :::laughs::: Just kidding. I don't care, really, I don't. If I hate the name I can always give the kid a nickname.

  
Flashbeagle: Sounds like a good plan! What was your favorite subject in school?

Kimberly: Um, I think it was…probably creative writing.

Flashbeagle: Where did you attend school?

Kimberly: You mean like all of them?

Flashbeagle: Yeah.

Kimberly: Well, I went to St. Philomela's in San Antonio from kindergarten through 8th grade. That's where I met Ben and my other good friend Tracy. Then we all went to St. Joan of Arc High School. For college, I went to South Texas University and got my bachelor's in journalism. College rocked. High school was okay. Elementary school rocked. So did middle school. I never really studied hard at all…I just sort of goofed off and had fun with my friends, but it's not like I was purposely stupid or anything.

Flashbeagle: What were your favorite TV shows as a kid in the 1980s?

Kimberly: Hmm…I always liked Rainbow Brite. Garfield and Friends was a personal favorite. Oh yeah, and I always wanted to be a contestant on Double Dare!

Flashbeagle: What was the last good book you read?

Kimberly: I recently re-read Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. I don't know what it is…I feel like Becky Bloomwood's the British me or something!

Flashbeagle: What was your favorite movie as a kid?

Kimberly: The Little Mermaid. Okay, that came out when I was ten, but I loved it anyway. Oh, and the Star Wars movies. My brother was totally into them, so we went to go see Return of the Jedi the day it opened when I was like five. 

Flashbeagle: Cool. Anyway, we're out of time. Is there anything you'd like to tell the readers, Kim?

Kimberly: Yeah. What a fool believes he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.

Flashbeagle: You stole that from the Doobie Brothers.

Kimberly: Is that a problem?

Flashbeagle: No, not at all. 

Next on our bonus feature agenda: An alternate character focus from Ramsley's point of view!


	16. BONUS! Alternate Character Focus: Ramsle...

When You Hear the Knell of a Requiem Bell by Flashbeagle

Bonus Features

**Alternate Character Focus: Ramsley the Butler**

What did Ramsley think when Kim first arrived at Gracey Manor? I actually wrote this right after I finished the first draft of the first chapter of the story way back in September. It has since been edited. It was written as a work in character perspective. 

            It wasn't possible. It simply wasn't possible.

            But there she was, Mistress Gracey, looking up at me, just like old times. It was like the first time she had been brought to Gracey Manor with her parents, curiously exploring everything. 

            "Um, hi!" she said.

            "Sorry." I responded. "What did you say your name was?"

            "Um, I didn't. I'm Kimberly Fox, from Carr News." She stuck out her hand.

            I could only stare at her. I had glanced at the tag around her neck, noticing her full name as Kimberly E. Fox. This was impossible. She even had the same initials as Mistress Gracey had before she and the Master were married. Her voice sounded exactly the same! 

            "Ah, yes. You must be the writer doing the piece on the Manor." I said slowly.

            "Yeah! Um, I just wanted to come over here, introduce myself, and um, I just wanted to let the owner of the place know what I'm going to be doing, you know, since I'm going to be ransacking through his or her stuff and all to get my info." She quipped. 

            "Alright. I am Ramsley. Master Gracey has been expecting you." I said slowly, turning around, indicating for Miss Kimberly Fox to follow me. What would Master Gracey say? Surely his reaction would be ten times as eventful as mine!

            "Master Gracey rarely receives any visitors. This is a pleasure for him." I said, trying to trace her emotions.

            "Um, yeah, great." She said, clearly distracted, looking at some of the paintings of various Gracey relatives.

            "We often get lonely here. It's a large place and-"

            "W-w-wait a second! You mean he actually _lives_ here?"

            "Yes, miss."

            "Whoa! But this place has no electricity! No TV, no cable, no phones, no computers, no DVD players….My God, how do you survive? Is there even a bathroom here?"

            She was clearly a woman of her times.

            "We manage." She gave me another strange look. "How long will you be staying, miss?"

            "Uh, not very. I have to meet a colleague to discuss our articles." Miss Fox had the exact same personality as Mistress Gracey had. She was just as vivacious and warm as Mistress Gracey had been. She always loved to have fun, and loved to laugh. Young Emily Westin, whom Master Gracey's father had married, but who had died on her wedding night, was much like that as well. 

            "I'll let Master Gracey know you're here." 

            "Ok." She shrugged. Before I walked off, I noticed her accidentally crash into one of the walls.

            "Ow! Son of a…" she muttered.

            I slightly chuckled. Miss Kimberly Fox seemed rather nice. Slightly bumbling, and surely flighty, but very sweet. Very much like Mistress Gracey. Almost too much. 

            "Master Gracey?" I said cautiously as I opened the door to his office.

            "Ramsley, is the reporter here yet?" He asked impatiently.

            "Yes, sir."

            "Well, show him in then." He snapped. 

            "It's not a 'he', it's a 'she'." I said, trying to carefully pick out my next words.

            "What difference does it make?" Master Gracey took a long look to the side. He looked so hopeless. After his wife's death, he became withdrawn and angry. He spent all of his days alone in the Manor, drinking excessively and mourning his poor wife until, of course, he killed himself. 

            "Master Gracey, I don't quite know how to say this, but this young journalist, Miss Kimberly Fox, bears a rather striking resemblance to your wife."

            Master Gracey's expression froze. The topic of Mistress Gracey is a very difficult one for him to even think about.

            "How so?" He asked very softly.

            "In almost everything. She is her exact double. Same eyes, same smile, nearly the same hair, same disposition, same attitude, even her _voice_ is the same!"

             Master Gracey looked pale. His eyes grew wide and he turned away from me. Were he alive, I was certain that he would have not been able to breathe.

            "Master?" I asked. "Are you alright?"

            "I have to see her for myself." He said slowly. "Show her in."

            "Yes, sir. " I obliged, and left the room to look for Miss Fox.

            She looked bored when I arrived back in the portrait gallery.

"Master Gracey will see you now. I hope I did not keep you waiting too long." I told her, motioning for her to follow me.  
  
           "Oh, no, not at all! Microsoft just came out with a new version of Windows while you were gone." She said, a mischievous smile on her face. I assumed that what she spoke of was something popular in her time period. 

            When Miss Fox left, I had been attending to other affairs, but I heard the door close. Almost instinctively, I ventured into the banquet hall. Master Gracey was standing up, staring down, and drumming his fingers thoughtfully on the back of a chair.

            He spoke before I could even open my mouth.

            "It's her." He said plainly. "My Katherine."

            I merely nodded.

            "I could feel it." He said very softly. "It was in her eyes."

            He looked so wistful. I've known him for so long, it feels like he's my own son. Mistress Gracey, too, was like a daughter to my wife and me. 

            "Master?" I began. "Did it…pain you? Seeing her?"

            "Quite the contrary. It felt just like it used to." He said, with a brilliant smile lighting up his face. Master Gracey hasn't smiled like that since,

            Well, it was a very long time ago.

            An old image of Mistress Gracey, grabbing onto Master Gracey's arm, staring dreamily up at him, a proud smile adorning his face. She had been such a beautiful girl, and he had been such a handsome man. Their personalities went together perfectly. They truly seemed to be destined for each other.

            How he had loved her…

            We all did, actually. She had this presence to her, one that made you want to smile. 

            And then things had gone so terribly wrong…

            "She starts her research tomorrow." He commented.

            "Yes." I nodded. "I'm sure she'll find it…rather interesting."

            Master Gracey smiled again. "Indeed."

Next on our bonus features journey: Read the descriptive story starring Christine, the character who would later evolve into Kimberly Fox. Beware in advance: there are LOADS of SAT words in it!


	17. BONUS! Early History and Christine's Sto...

When You Hear the Knell of a Requiem Bell

BONUS FEATURES!

"Christine's" Story plus some Kim Fox history!

Story History

This untitled story stars the early version of Kim's character, named Christine. I was originally thinking of writing something based off Phantom Manor, I even wrote my own PM backstory. The original story I was formulating had Christine going to a haunted house (basically Phantom Manor), and getting stuck there. She'd get help from someone she meets there, but soon discovers he's a ghost, and not a nice one either. Then I decided that I wanted my main character to be more comical, because writing comedy makes me happier. Also, the character of Christine didn't have much personality. So I morphed her into Kim, keeping her a reporter, but making her slightly ditzy, easily frightened, and lovable. I honestly was considering just taking the original plotline I had formulated and inserting Kim in there, but I watched the trailer to the HM movie, and something clicked. The whole thing about the portrait of Elizabeth that looked exactly like Mrs. Evers told even the dumbest movie preview watcher that there'd be a case of mistaken identity somewhere along the line. So I thought…Hmm…Kim in a mistaken identity situation…Interesting. I also liked the fact that the whole "pretty girl looks like dead guy's long lost love" situation normally called for a typical damsel in distress, weak and waiting for the handsome, rugged hero to rescue her, something Kim is definitely NOT. (BTW: Kim's relationship with Ben is strictly platonic. It did occur to me to put them together, after a friend suggested it, but I've decided against it.) She may not be a brainiac, but Kim's not the kind of character to cower in fear and shoot wide eyed gazes at the romantic male lead. She's actually quite brave and faces her fears, even if she's whining like a baby whil she does it. I read the "official movie backstory" on Doombuggies.com, along with the Ghost Gallery biographies, and put pen to paper and finger to keyboard, and about two weeks later, I had a completed story. Quite frankly, I do think that if I were a Disney writer, and they came to me and said, "Write a script based off the Haunted Mansion ride!" I really think I would've gone for something more Phantom Manor-y. (You know, maybe make the Ghost Host the Bride's father or something…) I wrote this to practice using SAT words, and it's not very proficient in character development.  As a matter of fact, Kim will be heading off to Phantom Manor, though the plotline is ENTIRELY different from my original ideas. 

The Story

            She wandered through the halls, taking in the lavish setting of the building. Richly furnished, and ornately designed, it was nothing short of a palace. The finely carved sculptures and carefully decorated halls presented an aesthetically pleasing picture…or at least it must have, once. 

            The sculptures and statues were covered in cobwebs, and the walls were covered in layers of dust and mildew. It was as cold as a tomb, and the objects in the mansion looked as if they hadn't been touched in over a hundred years. She felt like the first person to excavate an Egyptian pyramid, the first to see valuable artifacts that had been hidden away for millennia. As she passed through an ornately carved hallway, she noticed it was line with those often-used portraits with supercilious eyes that seemed to follow you wherever you went, a nefarious undertone to their gaze. The frowning subjects stared grimly at her, seeming to ask her what she was doing, upbraiding her for disrupting their peace. Although she knew her fears were silly, she shivered anyway. 

            She proceeded into the parlor, where carved antediluvian wood furniture stood primly, covered by a century's worth of forgotten memories. Old fashioned black and white photographs featured humorless, well dressed people staring blankly ahead. The room was colored warmly, as the furnishings were in red and gold, and the woodwork in dark brown. However, it was filled with an eerie silence and halcyon, and every noise she made resonated throughout the house. 

            A window suddenly jerked open, letting a gust of wind soar through the room. Although it startled her, she quickly closed it, and taking a deep breath, continued to examine the room more closely. She picked up a lovely carved box, and as she did, she could have sworn she heard the swirling wind outside utter her name. Although the odd noise frightened her, she knew that she was just being overly tense. She gingerly caressed the lid of the box as she prepared to remove it.

            "Don't." A gruff voice growled from behind her. 

            She jumped, dropping the box and whirling around. Her eyes scanned the room, but there was no one there. It was as eerily calm and vacant as it had been when she entered and, she guessed, it had been for a century. The air was thick and heavy, and it was difficult to breathe, which served to put her more on the edge. For some strange reason, she felt like there was someone else in the room with her, causing her to be nervous. Her breath quickened and her stomach turned as she again looked around the room.

            It was then that she felt a hand on her shoulder, as the wind howled and the same harsh voice grunted her name.

            "Christine…"

            Simultaneously, her face paled, she screamed, and a chill ran down her spine, She tore out of the room, sharply turning into the portrait hallway, where the citizens of paint and oil stared out at her disapprovingly, seeming to mock her messy exit. She nearly knocked over a cold featured statue as she made her way to the door. 

            The coldness of the mansion had gotten to her, as had the dust caked over the interior. Once she was outside, she collapsed in a wave of coughing, fatigue and horror.

            As she walked down the winding path in front of the grandiose old manor, she remembered wondering why it had been deserting and forgotten. After her experience today, she understood why.

Author's End Notes: Whoa, I wrote this BEFORE I wrote the 1st draft of When You Hear the Knell of a Requiem Bell…it was so odd to read it and type it again! I had completely forgotten some of the things about this story, including the phrase "century's worth of forgotten memories". When I read the line "citizens of paint and oil," I said aloud, "Where the hell did I get that from?"

Future Plans: Chapters 1-2 of Kim's new adventure at Phantom Manor have been completed, and I have the story all mapped out and some future scenes written out completely. Now, to put it all together. I'm not quite ready to do a preview for it, so I think I'll keep this story alive by sharing some of the other alternate character focuses I wrote, including one from Emily I think is quite interesting…


	18. BONUS! Alternate Character Focus: Ben

   When You Hear the Knell of a Requiem Bell by Flashbeagle

   Bonus Features

   This is another alternate character focus, written from Ben's point of view. This about how Ben felt when he arrived at Gracey Manor, and saw Kim acting like Katherine. I also wrote an alternate character focus from Emily's point of view, but I didn't like how it turned out, so here's the last alternate character focus for the story. This also marks the end of the bonus features, but be sure to stay tuned for the sneak peak at Kim's next adventure, A Phantom Awaits You, which takes place at Phantom Manor!

I've known Kim for eighteen years, and quite honestly, I think I know her better than I know myself.

            For example, how many people know that the only reason Kim picked #3 for her varsity basketball jersey number is because that's how many guys she had crushes on during that time in her junior year?

            Or that she secretly likes cauliflower?

            Or that she considers the color of her hair to be "very dark brown with golden accents?" Or that she thinks she talks like a duck?

            Yep, I know pretty much everything there is to know about Kimberly Elizabeth Fox, beyond the usual stuff like her birthday (Which is April 3, 1979) and her favorite TV show (anything on the Food Network, plus Trading Spaces).

            I never once dreamed that one day, I'd look right at her and not recognize her.

            But that's what's happening right now. That girl in the blue dress out on the dance floor isn't Kimberly. That aloof, dreamy expression is one Kimberly wouldn't be caught dead wearing. Yeah, Kim can be a ditz, oh wait, she **_is _**a ditz, and she can get some big ideas sometimes, but Kimberly Fox doesn't get dreamy. Kimberly Fox isn't sweet and demure. Kimberly's blunt, easily distracted, and bold. Kim's…well, she's just _Kim_ you know?

            "Mr. Torres? Are you okay?" Emily asked me. Emily's this ghost who's all dolled up in a wedding gown, and seems pretty concerned about helping Kim out.

            My stomach flipped. Suddenly all I could hear in my head was,

            "I wanna go to Tokyo Disneyland!"

            "KIM!" I shouted.

            She looked up, her eyes focused on me. It took a few seconds, but soon her eyes changed and suddenly the Kim I knew and made fun of was back.

            "Ben!" She shouted, sounding terrified and relieved at the same time.

            I focused my gaze on the ghost guy next to her, who was looking confused. Suddenly my blood boiled. How could anyone want to kill Kimberly? Yeah, sure, she's annoying. She's as annoying as hell. But she's also one of the funniest and craziest people in the world. How could anyone want to deprive her of the right to live, since living, well, living it up, really, is the thing that Kim does best.

(


	19. Sneak Peak: A Phantom Awaits You

When You Hear the Knell of a Requiem Bell

Sneak Peak…

A Phantom Awaits You

(Just bear with me and imagine that this is like a movie trailer, okay? I normally do not like the script format of fan fiction, but I think it's the best way to do this.)

Disclaimer: The very first line in this "trailer" is from the original English PM narration done by Vincent Price that was used when the ride first opened, before it switched to the current French narration.

            _Thunder crashes, and a black screen gives way to a vision of Ravenswood Manor at nighttime.__ Ravenswood Manor is an old, dilapidated mansion in the ghost town of __Thunder Mesa__. As the view focuses in on the Manor, the sad song of a soprano can be heard. As the next line is read, different shots of the Manor's interior are shown._

**Voice:** Where hinges creak in doorless chambers…where strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls... where candle lights flicker though the air is deathly still... This is Phantom Manor! …Welcome curious friends. You may not believe it, but beauty once lived in this house, and beauty lives here still.

            _A shot of the beautiful bride, Miss Melanie Ravenswood, as she holds a candelabra and sings to herself, is shown._

**Voice:** Of course, I use the word "lives" in the figurative sense. (The voice chuckles) Yes, my dear friends, this is what you would call a _haunted_ house. And she is not the only ghost who walks the halls of the Manor. There are more…many more.

            _Shots of the different ghosts, including the ballroom dancers, saloon ghosts in __Phantom__Canyon__, Lawrence the groom, and the Phantom are shown. As the next line is spoken, a tour guide in the Manor's foyer is shown, talking to an enthused tourist group._

**Voice:** Many people come to see us, in hopes that they'll get the scare of their lifetime. Of course, not everyone wants to greet a ghost…

            _The shot changes to one of Kimberly Fox, our sort of reluctant heroine, with a slightly annoyed, slightly creeped out look on her face._

**Kimberly's voice:** I hate haunted houses.

            _Next, a montage of images is shown to the "Spooks Tour" music from Halloween is Grinch Night. The images include Kimberly in a room with stretching walls; a falling corpse; a falling chandelier; the ghost mayor from Phantom Canyon; Nate and Lotte, Kim's new interns, looking confused; Melanie Ravenswood looking anguished, Kim and Lawrence, the groom, running away from something; Kim and Lotte looking over a piece of paper; Kim, Lawrence, Nate, and Lotte ducking something flying through the air; a skeleton rising out of a casket; Kim looking scared; and finally, the sinister Phantom himself, a skeleton-like specter in formal dress, as he cackles and points to an open grave. _

**Voice: ** This summer, make plans to stop at Ravenswood Manor….if you dare.

            _One last view of Ravenswood Manor is shown, as the Phantom's laughter is heard._

_The following words appear on the screen**.**_

A Phantom Awaits You

            _The Phantom's maniacal laughter stops and is replaced by the lonely, beautiful singing of the house's ill-fated bride. The following words appear on the screen._

            Coming Summer 2004

While we're on the topic of sneak peaks and advertisements, I'm going to use this place to insert an ad for my friend Crescent Venus's HM fan fic Tribute. It's based off the video game and is a crossover with Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. Sabrina becomes a spirit detective and her first assignment, of course, takes place at Gracey Manor, where she gets help from everyone's favorite gypsy lady, Madame Leota. It's currently 18 chapters long, and let me tell you, it's got some GREAT cliffhangers! Oh, man…this one is GOOD. There are very few HM fan fics on the Internet, so if you're a HM fan, it is imperative that you check it out! Even if you've never even heard of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, it's still written in a way where you can understand the show's characters, like Sabrina and Salem. You gotta trust me on this one…I would NOT be highly endorsing this fic if I didn't think it was worthy of reviews and accolades. You can find Tribute in the Sabrina, the Teenage Witch section in the TV section of fanfiction.net.          


End file.
